A Familiar Pattern
by genielou
Summary: Justin goes off to college, and completely rejects Harper before he leaves. He comes back to participate in the wizarding competition and finds a totally different Harper. Will he think differently of her this time? If so, will she care? Please R R.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Disney owns Wizards of Waverly Place, not me. This fic is being written for pure amusement only. No profits are being made from it.

Author's Note: I was really surprised to see how little Justin/Harper fanfics are out there. Do people hate that pairing or something? Anyway, this is my first attempt at a Wizards fic so if I get any details wrong, please forgive me. Also, if there are any spells in this fic, they will most likely just be rhymes that I made up. It would be too hard to try to remember every single spell that they actually recite on the show, so this would be easier.

Please review. And for the haters out there, your reviews are welcome too but I'll probably ignore you if you bash me too much. And now, enjoy!

**A Familiar Pattern**

**By genielou**

Theresa Russo hugged her eldest son tighter as she bawled on his shoulder.

"Miho, my miho, I can't believe you're actually leaving me."

"Mom, I'll be back eventually," Justin cooed, trying to comfort his mother. "In approximately two years, Max will turn eighteen and we'll have to go through the competition. And when that happens," Justin held her at arm's length and looked straight into her eyes, "I promise I'll take an extra long vacation time, and we'll have a bunch of mother-son bonding time. Okay?"

"Okay, querida," she sniffed.

Justin kissed her one last time, then slung his backpack onto one shoulder and headed towards the entrance doors of the Waverly Substation. His family remained in their places as per request; Justin thought that it would be easier for him to leave if they didn't come after him. They merely looked after him longingly; even Alex seemed to look sad.

He exited the building and made his way towards the cab that was waiting by the sidewalk, already carrying most of his suitcases. The cab driver sat by the hood of the car, reading over the directions needed to get his passenger to his new college of choice. He looked up as Justin came closer.

"You ready, kid?" he asked in a Brooklyn accent. Justin nodded in response.

Suddenly, as Justin pulled the cab door open, a hand tapped on his shoulder.

"Justin?"

He turned around to see the short redhead, looking up at him shyly.

"Uhm, I made you this," she said, holding out a plate in front of him. "It's a, you know, good bye present."

Justin smiled warmly at her manner, finding this side of Harper quite cute. He immediately thought back to the normal Harper, the Harper that he had once or twice found himself considering as an actual girl and not just as his little sister's weird best friend. But with a look down at the plate she was holding, these thoughts quickly faltered. His smile disappeared when he saw a photoshopped image of himself and Harper, arm in arm, as the plate's main decoration. He cringed at this evidence of her obsession.

He sighed, then took a deep breath. _This has gone on for too long._ Justin let go of the car door, and positioned himself to face her completely. He held up a hand, and gently pushed the plate away from himself. Harper looked at him with dejected eyes.

"Harper," he started, looking down at her determinedly. "This. Has got. To. Stop."

Harper winced at his enunciation.

"You've been pining over me since elementary school. We're almost adults now. Surely you've realized a long time ago that there is no chance of you and me ever happening?"

"But Justin, that's only because you're being close-minded about it," she said in a low voice, maintaining her cheerfulness but nonetheless unsuccessfully hiding her fear. She slapped a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to lighten his growing mood. "Come on, I'm slowly breaking you down."

Justin shook his head. He didn't want to do this next part, but knew it was necessary. He was entering a new school, and that means a new chance to have a different, and maybe a better, identity. He just couldn't risk having Harper ruin that for him.

He placed both hands on her shoulder and looked at her straight in the eyes. Harper's eyes almost teared upon seeing the seriousness in his frown. She held her breath as she braced herself for the inevitable.

"Harper," he said sternly, determined to no longer humor her. "Grow up."

With those words, he let her go and climbed into the cab. He closed the door without another glance at her. She stood back as the cab engine turned on, and slowly pulled off of the curb.

Harper watched as the cab drove away, further, and then deeper, into the New York traffic. She hugged the plate with both arms as she looked on. She had expected this. She had been expecting it for years. But still, being ready for it didn't help with the impact that it created.

"Harper!" her best friend hollered. "Come on! I'm getting hungry! Eat! Now!"

She took a deep breath and squeezed her eyes shut to try to calm herself. Once the dampness in her eyes dried, she pasted a smile on her face and skipped towards the waving Alex. She would tell her eventually, but for now, eating might help make the pain in her chest go away.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Wizards of Waverly Place. No profit is being made from this story.

Author's Note: The feedback that I have gotten so far for this story has been very encouraging and very helpful. Thank you very very much for taking it easy on me. No flames on this so far, and I'm crossing my fingers that I won't have any haters any time soon.

And I apologize for the wrong usage of Spanish words. I really should have researched those words more before I used them. I'll probably just avoid them altogether from now on.

Also, I'd like to remind everyone that the spells that will be recited in this story will just be rhymes that I made up since I can't remember any of the spells from the show. The rhymes might suck too so I'm apologizing for that in advance.

Please keep supporting this story.

And now, enjoy!

**A Familiar Pattern 2**

**By genielou**

Justin opened the door of the bathroom and walked out with a towel wrapped into a turban around his head. He patted his chest with another towel that he held in his hands. His roommate looked up with an amused look in his face as Justin passed by his bed.

"Justin, buddy," he said as repositioned himself to sit up. "Why do you do that? You don't even have that much hair."

Justin threw his towel on a nearby chair, and began to undo the towel from his head. "I find that the dampness of the towel enables the follicles of my scalp to moisturize naturally instead of merely drying. That's how dandruff develops, don't you know," he announced knowingly. "You should try it, Jason. It helps keep your hair from getting too oily too."

"No thanks, dude." Jason stood up with a huff. He momentarily eyed the Green Lantern boxers that his best friend wore, then shook his head before walking towards him. "Anyway, I should be going. My mom is expecting me to be home by this afternoon."

Justin stretched out a hand. "I'll see you in a few months, man."

Jason took his hand and they performed their unique handshake. He nodded to him before picking up his backpack and suitcase from the floor, and headed out the door. Before the door to his dormitory room completely closed, Justin briefly saw the crowded hallway as students bustled around to get ready for the summer.

An entire school year had come and passed, and summer quickly snuck up. The time has come for Justin to take the short trek home to be with his family for an entire month before his summer studies started. He had already packed his suitcases, and was ready to leave soon. All that was left for him to do was fulfill his usual hygienic rituals and get dressed.

He walked his way towards the standing fan next to the mirror and turned it on. As he turned and twisted his body in different angles to air-dry the remaining dampness on his skin, the reflection of his half-naked self caught his attention.

"I. Am. A. Stud," he told himself as he admired the progress of the hard work that he has done. Justin had tried very hard to maintain his fitness despite the busy schedule that his college classes provided him.

He now twisted and turned while flexing and stretching to see his muscles better. After a few more poses, he stood erect and shook his head at himself.

"Stop being a dork, Justin," he told himself as he pointed a finger at his mirror. "Your family and friends will be seeing you in a few hours, and the last thing you want is for them to think that you're the same geek that you were back in high school. You're a grown man now. It's time to act like one."

The loud ringing of his cellphone suddenly interrupted his reverie. He turned the fan off and walked towards his desk on his side of the room. He unhooked his phone from his charger before sliding it open.

"Yeah-llo," he said gleefully to it.

"Yo, Justin!"

He frowned, not recognizing the voice on the other side of the line.

"Uh, hi. May I ask who's speaking?"

"Oh, Justin, you kidder," the deep voice said. "It's me. Max!"

Justin's eyes widened. "Max!," he exclaimed, suddenly picking up on slight similarities on the voice's tone to his little brother's. "Hey! What's up?"

"Nothing much, man," Max replied. "You're still coming over today, right?"

"You betcha," Justin said. He wedged his phone between his shoulder and cheek as he tried to put his pants on. "I told Dad I'd be over this afternoon."

"Afternoon? That's too far from now. Can't you be here right now?"

Justin smiled. He hadn't seen his family the entire school year, mainly due to his insistence on concentrating nonstop on his studies. Taking extra-curricular activities during the winter vacation had not gone over very well with his mother either.

"I've missed you too, Max," he said over the phone as he struggled to button his pants close. "But it's a few hours' drive to get there. I'll tell you what, I'm almost ready anyway so I'll try to leave as soon as I can so I can get there a bit earlier, okay?"

Max sighed before continuing with a suddenly unexpected optimism in his tone. "Hey, how many bags did you pack?"

Justin frowned. "Three. Two suitcases and a duffel bag."

"Where are they?"

"What?"

"Are they on the bed?"

Justin glanced towards his bags. "They're by the door," Justin said. "Why do you ask?"

He heard shuffling and grunting on the other line, then a faint "found it!"

Max came back on the line. "Hold your breath, Justin," he told him. "This distance between us is too much to bare- -"

Justin's eyes widened. "No, Max, wait- -"

"Three bags and a brother, get them pronto to the lair!"

Justin and his bags landed with a loud thud and an "oof!" in the middle of their wizards lair. He wheezed and coughed loudly. He should've held his breath.

"Justin!" He heard fairly audibly.

The heavy door opened and a younger man with short brown hair ran in. His eyes fell on Justin and widened in recognition.

"Justin!" he exclaimed, running towards him and jumping on him. "You're home, man!"

"Gerroff!" Justin yelled as he pushed him off. "Hey, get off of me!"

Justin stood up as soon as he was free. He struggled to hold his pants up with him. His eyes focused on the man in front of him, and frowned as he barely recognized his little brother who now bore a rounder physique.

"Max?" he asked, looking over him once over again. "Is that you?"

Max grinned at him. "Don't let the thickness fool you, bro," he joked. "There's just more to love of me, that's all."

Justin smirked, and beckoned for his brother to come closer. He patted his back hard as Max engulfed him in a bear hug.

"Come on, buddy," Max said as he started to pull him towards the door. "Mom will be so happy to see ya."

"No, wait! Max, I can't go in there."

"Why not?"

Justin pointed at himself. Max looked him over, and only just then realized that his older brother was shirtless, with an unbuttoned pair of pants to boot.

"Riiiiggghhhtttt," Max said slowly. He unzipped the sweater he was wearing, took it off, and tossed it towards Justin. Max looked him over again as Justin put on the sweater. "Justin, you've been working out."

"Wha- -?" Justin said as his eyes followed the direction of Max's stare. He looked down on himself and saw the noticeable bulging of his stomach muscles. "Yeah, I figured a hot-nerd is better than a nerd-nerd, right?"

"That's right, man," Max agreed. "You should see your nerd friend then. He is totally ripped. Like, he-can-bench-press-an-elephant ripped."

Justin picked up his backpack and a suitcase while Max picked up the other suitcase. They both walked towards the door.

"Are you talking about Zeke?"

Max nodded. Justin frowned at this, not completely believing his brother. His mind automatically assumed that this must be one of Max's usual exaggerations.

Max opened the door and held it open for Justin to go through. Justin, in turn, opened the swinging door that led to the main restaurant room and held it open for Max. His eyes widened at the crowd that filled the room.

"Whoa," he said, his eyes zooming around trying to find his parents.

"Yup, the rush started a week ago. All college students," Max grinned. "I've gotten rejected only fifteen times. So far, so good."

"Where are mom and dad?"

Max started searching the room too, and then suddenly pointed towards the separate room that was designed to look like a typical New York sub-train. "There they are."

Justin strained his eyes to see his parents inside the train, each taking orders from different tables. His smile came automatically at the sight of them. Then his eyes travelled throughout the restaurant room again. He saw his sister Alex clearing a table by the windows. He smiled at seeing how much taller she had gotten.

And then, a couple standing by the steps leading to the entrance caught his attention.

"Oh my god," Justin exclaimed as he concentrated on the man's face. "That's Zeke!"

"Oh yeah," Max said. "I told ya he's ripped."

And indeed he was. Zeke had now built himself up and could be mistaken to be a body-builder. The tank top that he wore didn't hide this either.

Justin's eyes unknowingly switched to the young woman standing by him, with her back towards Justin. He couldn't help but admire the unique physique that she bore. She looked curvaceous, but still very thin. And the style that she displayed hinted her standard. She wore a light, pink, button-up shirt that highlighted the auburn highlights in her shoulder-length, straight hair. The huge black belt that she wore around her shirt matched the black, mini skirt that she wore underneath. And her exposed legs looked even longer and more toned with the high-heeled stiletto shoes that she stood on. Although her face had not yet been revealed to him, Justin's breath was already caught.

Max knew very well who Justin was staring at, but remained silent to grant his older brother more time to admire. The shock that will come after Justin realizes how much things had really changed in Waverly Place will be much worth it this way.

Justin stared on, then, as she turned her head slightly and he saw her right ear, something that didn't seem to fit her style caught his eye. Dangling from her ears were huge, metal earrings shaped like cupcakes. He realized that she was actually wearing a bracelet bearing several charms of the same shape.

"Max," he started. "Who's that girl?"

Max grinned, not completely ready to reveal that little fact just yet. "That's Zeke's girlfriend. _And_ the inspiration to his new look."

Justin nodded. His eyes widened as Zeke leaned down and kissed the woman in question. "How did Zeke get a girl like that?"

Max had to put hand to his mouth to keep himself from laughing. "Oh, man. Wouldn't you like to know," he spat out.

Justin frowned as Zeke released her from their short kiss. He smiled down at her and waved as she walked away, and out of the restaurant. Zeke looked after her as she headed out, and then again as she headed left and appeared through the restaurant windows. She slowed momentarily to wave at Alex who stopped wiping her table to wave back at her. Justin's eyes almost popped out as he realized who he had been admiring.

There, waving at his little sister through the window was a slightly older and very different-looking Harper, more captivating than he had ever remembered her being. He lost the feelings to his fingers and dropped his bags to the floor. Max laughed out loud.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Disney owns Wizards of Waverly Place. No profit is being made from this story.

Author's Note: Thank you thank you THANK YOU for the encouragement! I really do appreciate those who took the time to leave a review. I know that reviews are usually meant to just give suggestions to the writers, but a simple 'I really like this story, please update' or mere thoughts on what about the story you didn't like, really does make a difference in a writer's ego. For me, especially, it makes me wants to write faster. Please stay with me as I go on with the story.

Also, I'm not sure if this would be a warning or a notice, but the chapters will surely get longer from now on. I figured it would be better this way, because short chapters tend to go nowhere with stories like this.

Anyway, here is the third installment to the story. Please read and review! ^_^

**A Familiar Pattern 3**

**By genielou**

Max reduced himself to chuckles before approaching his older brother. "You know, I always knew that this was going to surprise you and I've tried imagining the look on your face when you finally see her," he declared in between giggles. "But seeing you like this does not even compare to what I had in my head."

Before Justin could reply, he saw his parents finally recognize him.

"Justin! You're home!" Theresa exclaimed as she jogged to him and gave him a hug.

Jerry patted him hard on the back. "It's great to have you here, son. I thought you weren't due until later this afternoon."

"Well, uh," Justin stammered before giving up and pointing at Max. Jerry just gave Max a pointed look while Max tried to avoid eye contact.

"Oh, whatever. It's still great to have my son back," Theresa said as she pulled him into a hug again. "I know you must be tired, sweetheart, but would you mind giving us a hand before resting? We're really swamped."

At Justin's smile and nod, Jerry ordered Max to help him carry his bags up to the leased apartment on the upstairs of the Substation. After settling his things in Justin's old room, Max quickly took off to join the fight against the brunch rush. Justin couldn't help but remain in his room longer than he had intended, to admire the memories he held within it. Nostalgia overtook him as time seemed to have stopped in that tiny room that held his identity throughout his adolescent development.

He quickly put on deodorant, cologne, and his own shirt, and then made his way back down to the restaurant. He recognized his younger sister, despite the shorter and curled hair that she now had, slowly making her way pass the spiral staircase that he ran down of, carrying a tub of dirty dishes. Justin jogged towards her, grabbed the tub, and headed to the kitchen without a word to her, leaving her with her mouth open. She quickly followed him to the sink.

"Justin, you're back!" she said as she spread her arms. He welcomed it wholeheartedly, and couldn't help but notice the lack of difference in their heights. Their shoulders unfamiliarly leveled. The blue streaks underneath her natural black hair didn't escape his eyes either. She pushed back as she gave him a pointed look. "Wait, you're not supposed to be here yet. Did Max zap you here?"

Justin nodded. "Yup. It wasn't a soft landing."

Alex grinned and gave a not-so-feminine chuckle. "Nice one, Max," she said to herself. "We'll catch up later. I got a lot of tables to clean."

She quickly headed back into the main room of the substation with a towel in hand. The day passed by quickly as Justin helped with his family's business; taking orders, making sandwiches, and manning the cash register along with his parents. He willfully left the table-cleaning and dish-washing to his two siblings. Every so often, he saw his former best friend wave at him, and Justin wanted so much to have a decent conversation with him but the rush seemed to continue on until the late afternoon. By the time the restaurant's maximum reduced down to a mere five tables, Zeke had already gone and left.

After locking up the entrance doors and placing the _Closed _sign on the window, Justin headed towards the kitchen and made himself a large veggie sub. He sat down at a table where Max and Alex had already settled themselves with their own sandwiches. They both noticed his choice of size.

"Dude, hungry much?" Max commented.

Justin, in turn, eyed Max's small BLT sandwich and the bowl of lettuce leaves next to it. "How about you? Are you not hungry at all?"

"Oh, he is. Trust me, he is _very, _very hungry," Alex replied with a mouthful of potato chips. "But mom put him on a diet. I mean, look at him. She is not liking the look."

"I'm not sure why either. Look at Dad," Max said as he stuffed a handful of lettuce leaves into his mouth. "He's bigger than me."

Justin took a bite of his sub. "I've been meaning to ask you about that, Max. What happened? You got taller, which is good," he took a sip of his water. "But you grew wider too."

"Dad thinks it's the Russo gene," Max replied knowingly, he took a big gulp of his orange soda. "He said the guys in the family always grow up to be big. It might happen to you too, you know."

Justin grimaced at the thought. He took another bite of his sub before turning to Alex. "Where's Harper?"

Both Alex and Max halted their chewing and gave him a suspicious look.

"Why do ask?" Alex challenged.

Justin swallowed and bit into his sandwich again. "Just curious."

"You're curious about Harper?"

"Am I not allowed to be?"

"But you've never been curious about her before."

"She's part of the family. Of course I'd be curious."

"Why do you care?" Max chimed in.

Justin gave him a wary look. "I don't."

"So you don't care where she is?"

"I do care."

"So you care about Harper."

"Geez, I was just asking where she was," Justin exclaimed as he set his sandwich down. "What is with the interrogation?"

Max and Alex exchanged looks and laughed. Justin chugged the remainder of his water in irritation.

"Oh relax, Justin," Alex told him. "She's busy. Actually, she'll be very busy this summer so I'd be surprised if you even see her at all."

"What is she busy with?"

"She got accepted into a special summer program at school."

Justin looked at her, confused. "But didn't you two graduate a few weeks ago?"

Alex rolled her eyes. "Not high school, you loser. And thanks for not being at my graduation, by the way." Justin averted his gaze guiltily. Alex suppressed her annoyance and continued to explain. "Harper and I both got accepted at the Art Institute, remember? We're starting next semester. But they liked Harper's portfolio so much that they offered for her to start early."

"Wait, Harper actually had a portfolio?" Justin asked with an incredulous look on his face.

"Man, you have been gone way too long," Max declared. "Even I thought her stuff was good."

Max set his sandwich down and wiped his hands on his pants. He took out his wand, waved it around, and black canvas folder suddenly appeared on top of his sandwich. He flinched when he saw ketchup on the folder as he lifted it.

"Oops," he said, wiping it off with a napkin. "Here, take a look."

Justin took the folder and carefully flipped through its plastic pages. He skimmed through it, not completely appreciating the drawings of potential clothing designs. But once he reached the pictures of the actual finished products, he slowed his pace to look through them one by one.

"Wow," he wondered aloud. "They're not that bad."

He settled on a page of a man's long-sleeved, button up shirt. The design consisted of what seemed like a black splatter that originated from the right shoulder. But upon a closer look, he concluded that the black splatter on the shirt actually took on the subtle shapes of what could be butterflies. The corner of his lip slightly rose as he realized that although the designs were intended to fit the mainstream's taste, they still maintained a slight _Harper_-ized style to them.

Max leaned in to take a look at the basis of Justin's attraction. "Yeah, I like that one too," he said. "She promised she'd give it to me on my eighteenth birthday.'

Alex stuffed the last bit of her sandwich and a swig of rootbeer. "Anyway," she said after swallowing. "Harper is dorming near the college. She comes home on the weekends only. So if you want to see her, you're gonna have to wait."

She got up from the table with her dishes in hand. Justin stared at her as she walked away, while Max stuffed more lettuce leaves into his mouth.

"Don't mind her, Justin. I doubt she'd stay mad at you for too long," Max said in between chews. "By the way, I have a business proposition for ya. How would you like to invest on bannapples? You see, it's a hybrid fruit. And I am on my way to perfecting it soon."

Days passed by as Justin slowly settled himself into his old home. He unpacked his bags and replaced them into the dresser drawers, and even started wearing old clothes that he found in his closet. The busy hours in the restaurant continued as more students, both from high school and colleges, were released for vacation and crowded the Waverly Substation. The hours for each day seemed to pass too quickly as he helped ease the labor strain from his family.

As he lay in bed one night trying to ignore the summer heat, he couldn't help but think of the changes that had occurred in his home, both the subtle and the obvious changes. The subtle changes were definitely his parents, who seem to have calmed their usual childish antics, but that might just be because the restaurant had been keeping them too tired to even try. Alex's changes dwindled in between subtle and obvious. Her physical appearance definitely surprised Justin; as he was so used to holding on to her much smaller frame. Now she was much taller than he could have imagined her to be. And her speech was less sarcastic. Still sarcastic, but less so compared to a year ago. The hair slightly surprised him, but it was nothing that he would not have expected from her.

Max, on the other hand, threw him off a bit. He still had that same unique smile, and the noticeable twinkle in his eyes whenever he thought of an idea, of which would surely result in failure, popped into his head. But his face, for some reason, had expanded; as did everything else in his body. This was something that usually happens when a person gets older, but Max seemed to be going through it at a much younger age. Not that he was fat in an unattractive sense, he was just merely bigger. He was definitely starting to look like their father, which would prove to serve Max's previous claims true: that there was just more of him to love.

Justin sat up and took off his shirt, clearly seeing the sweat that dampened parts of it as he tossed it aside. His mind wandered to Zeke as he lay back down.

Zeke. Geez, what had happened to him? He was so skinny when Justin last saw him, and now- - now, he didn't even look like Zeke. The only reason that Justin became absolutely convinced that it was really him was because Zeke cheerfully greeted him in alien language while holding up a hand in trekky signage. Having a very bulky, young man who could easily twist Justin's neck outwardly blabber "boop-a-lee-bee-du-bap-doo" with a grin on his face was definitely an awkward sight to see.

And lastly, Harper. Justin didn't even know what to think of her. And for the life of him, he wanted to know so badly why his mind kept reminiscing of her. Seeing how she had developed in a mere year's time had been nothing short of a shock to him. The way she was dressed was something he could easily accept, as he had never been entire opposed to her creativity when it came to her choice of clothes. But the difference in her physicality, and the way she presented herself hinted no similarities to how he remembered Harper to be at all. The Harper he remembered was jittery, always waving her arms about, and practiced daily what he liked to call the 'teenager posture,' a term to describe a teenager's habit to hunch over instead of taking better precautions at their presentation. This new Harper, though, stood very still and almost seemingly posed a-la-vogue with even the slightest turn of her body. And she stood quite tall and proud on her very high heels. She was definitely not the Harper that Justin remembered.

So why did his mind kept going back to her. Was it curiosity? It had to be. It couldn't be anything else. She and Zeke were the ones who changed the most, so his mind would consequently be more curious about them than anyone else. Once Justin is able to finally talk to them, he'll get the closure that he needs to secure his curiosity, and all of his nonsense thinking will surely go away. It was just pure curiosity. That had to be what it was.

Sweat started to build up on his bare chest. Exasperated, he got up and walked over to the window. He pulled at its handle and grunted as he tried to push it open. Unfortunately, after almost a year of it being closed, there was just too much gunk keeping it shut. After three more tries, Justin finally gave up and decided to step out of his bedroom. He made his way towards the studio area of the apartment that held the living room and the kitchen, to find the balcony doors wide open. The chill that came through felt amazingly relieving on his exposed skin.

He cocked a brow but then noticed the light emanating from the television of the living room, and saw a head of dark hair sticking out from the top of the couch.

"Alex?" he asked while squinting, as his eyes slowly adjusted to the dim lighting. "What are you doing up so late?"

He saw her shoulders stiffen when she heard his voice. Justin walked towards the refrigerator and opened it. "You're working the early shift tomorrow," he said sternly while he opened a bottle of water. "Don't think that I'll be nice enough to cover it for you. I'm not quite ready to give up my late morning naps just yet."

He took a swig from his bottle, and sighed loudly after gulping cold water down. The television content grabbed his attention. "You're watching CNN?" he asked exasperated. "Since when do you care what's happening to the rest of the world?"

He walked over and settled himself next to her. "God, I can't believe how hot it is tonight." He pressed the cool bottle onto his chest, and let the chilled moisture slide down his stomach.

When he noticed the overflowing bowl of popcorn that she held, he reached over and grabbed a handful, accidently dropping some on her lap.

"Oops, sorry," he said, quickly shoving the popcorn into his mouth and reaching over again to brush the popcorn off of her shorts and thigh. He noticed her stiffen again when his fingertips touched her skin. "What is with you?" he asked, finally looking at her. "Are you, like, germaphobic now or somethi- -"

It was then that he noticed the reddish shade that the television light caused to shine on her short hair. Her skin was relatively much lighter than his sister's, and her cheeks noticeably round on her thinned face. The usually round eyes that she bore were even rounder as they widened at the sight of him, her gaze flicking back and forth from his face to his bare chest, and then to his face again. He felt himself inadvertently stiffen, and was almost sure that he displayed a similarity to her feature in his expression.

"Hey, Justin," she managed after gulping. "You're back?"

"Uhm," he choked out, the tone of his voice higher than he would've like. "Hey there. Harper."


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Wizards of Waverly Place. No profit is being made from writing this story.

Author's Note: I've tried really hard to imagine how the Russo's apartment and restaurant is structured, but it's just too hard to try to get it right. Actually, I already made a mistake on where the rooms would be. Can anybody guess what the mistake was? [hint: it has something to do with Justin's room]. Anyway, I'll just try my best to keep it unnoticeable. If anyone notices it though, please just ignore it.

To pureangel86 – my answer to your question is, maybe? Because in the show, I still saw hints that Harper still kind of likes Justin, although not as bad as she did before, even after she started crushing on Zeke. So for this story, imagine that Harper and Zeke were already going out when Justin went off to college, and is still dating when Justin comes back, even though she still harbours some feelings for Justin. Does that make sense? I really hope so, coz that'll be very important in the story.

And again, thank you very much for the reviews. All of you who actually take the time to write the reviews are effin awesome!

Enjoy!

**A Familiar Pattern 4**

**By genielou**

"Harper." Justin stared at her, not sure what to say next.

Harper's eyes seemed to look everywhere else but him. Her hands start to meticulously pick at the popcorn that had fallen on the couch, and replace them onto the bowl. "So," she started, eyes still focused on her handwork. "When did you get back?"

"A few days ago," Justin said, averting his attention towards the television. "I actually saw you but you were already on your way out."

"Oh, is that so?" she replied.

Her hands still kept busy picking on the little bits on the couch. Justin watched her nervously, fidgeting as she lifted the bowl of popcorn and start to pick at tiny bits of popcorn that had fallen on her lap.

"Here," Justin offered as he reaches over to take the bowl from her. "Let me help you."

Harper's eyes widened as Justin's hand start picking at the kernels on her lap. Her face heats up when he inadvertently starts picking at the tiniest pieces that had wedged between her legs.

"Justin, stop!" Harper said with more force that she'd intended. She held up her hands as she suddenly took the bowl from Justin and stood up, her hair bobbing as she did so. Justin retreats his hand in embarrassment.

He took a deep breath, slowly exhaled, and turned to her, jumping back a bit when his eyes met the back of her shorts instead. He averted her eyes towards the television again. "So, Harper," he started, glancing at her, and when he saw that the backside of her short was still at eye level, he turned towards the television again. "Why are you up so late?"

She sat down, noticeably farther onto the other side of the couch. "I just got home not too long ago, and I was too hungry to sleep."

Justin eyed the bowl of popcorn and raised an eyebrow. "If you're hungry, you should eat real food," he said. "There are some left-over enchiladas in the fridge if you want some."

"Oh, no thank you," Harper smiled, reaching over to reclaim her bowl. "I'm good."

He frowned at her. "That's not food, Harper."

"No, but it's not too harmful either. See," Harper smiled and held up the bowl for him to see. He realized the lack of yellowing that popcorn usually had. "It's plain. No butter. It's what I usually eat for dinner anyway."

"Right," Justin said.

He remained silent for awhile, staring at the television and throwing quick glances at her, trying to think of something to say to her.

"Well," he sighed, after a few minutes. "I'm going back to my room."

He pushed himself off of the couch and quickly walked away before Harper could say anything. She frowned as she watched him until he turned into the hallway. Turning back to the television, she smacked a hand to her forehead as embarrassment finally overtook her.

Justin entered the warm room and closed the door. He paced the room in anxiousness.

"What the hell is wrong with me?" he asked to no one. "It's just Harper. Yeah. It's Harper. What am I being so jittery about?"

Sweat started to build on his skin again as he became very conscious of the growing heat in the room. He suddenly detoured his pace towards the window, and quickly attacked it, grabbing hold of the handle and pushing with all his might. The window didn't budge.

"Open, you," he said through gritted teeth. "Open now!"

With one final unsuccessful push, he finally let go and settled himself back onto his bed. He buried his face in his pillow despite the smell of sweat that seemed to have built up on it.

In the living room, Harper turned off the television and quickly strode across the room towards the staircase that led down into the restaurant. Her feet thumped loudly as she ran down the spiral staircase, then made her way towards the corner of the restaurant that held the door to the basement. She took out the key in her pocket and fidgeted through it as she tried to find the right key.

"Alex is so dead," she muttered as she finally found the right key and inserted it into the keyhole. She turned the knob and opened the door, surprised to find all the lights in her room on. She closed the door behind her and made her way down to the ground floor. Her pace quickened even more when she noticed a sleeping figure on her bed.

"Alex, wake up," she said as she tried to shake Alex awake, her voice raspy from the sudden frog that had developed in her throat, caused by her recent interaction.

Alex's arm swung sluggishly at her. Harper grabbed hold of her shoulder and shook her again.

"Stop," Alex muttered in her sleep. "Five more minutes, Mom."

Suddenly, Harper realizes that she was still holding the bowl of popcorn in her hand. She readies it with both hands and suddenly dumps it on top of Alex's head. Alex yelps as her arms flung around with the bowl still on her head.

"Harper!" she yells as she took the bowl off of her head and drops it onto the floor. "What's the deal?"

"The deal is that you didn't tell me that Justin was back," Harper retorted.

"So?" Alex bent over and shook her head. Bits and pieces of popcorn fell onto the floor.

Harper paced back and forth beside her bed. "Whaddaya mean 'so'? This is Justin we're talking about. Justin!"

"Yeah, yeah, I heard ya the first time."

Harper crossed her arms as she watched Alex pick popcorn from her hair. "Alex, I'm not ready yet."

Alex sighed. She quickly brushed the popcorn off of the bed and sat down on it. "Harper, I've told you this a thousand times. It's. Just. Justin. He's the same Justin we've always known. Just relax."

"You should've told me he was here. Why didn't you at least warn me that he was coming?"

"Because you haven't been around!" Alex retorted. "You've been busy. And you were already stressed out with being in that new school. I just thought that maybe," the corner of Alex's lip curls up. "I thought maybe your head might explode from all the pressure."

Harper's expression softens. She uncrosses her arms and walked towards Alex, smirking as she noticed the dents that her sleep had caused on her hair. She looks at her warily. "Alex, it's Justin. How am I supposed to talk to him?"

Alex tilts her head at her. "Harper," she said sternly. "We've been working on this all year. Just do your thang."

"My _thang_?"

"Yes, your _thang_," Alex takes a pillow and hugs it. "I mean, look at you. You're totally irresistible. You'll be fine."

Harper smiled faintly. "Yeah, well, I totally made an ass of myself up there."

"You saw him already?" Alex asked with her eyes wide.

"Yeah. It didn't go so well."

Harper reiterated the awkward meeting to Alex, and Alex kept nodding her head as she listened intently. When Harper finished, Alex placed a finger to her chin and thought deeply. Harper's hands starts to fidget in anticipation.

"Alright, Harper. That's actually not a bad start," Alex held up a hand when Harper's eyes seemed to protest. "Believe me, it wasn't a bad start. It was actually a very good start. You say he was shirtless?"

Harper nodded.

"And you were wearing _that_?" Alex eyed the denim shorts and white tank top that Harper wore.

Harper nodded nervously, her frown growing.

"Good, very good," Alex said, almost to herself only. "How long are you gonna be here for?"

"Well," she started. "Just for tonight. There are a bunch of visiting artists that will be holding panels at the school this entire week. I was planning on attending all of them."

"Even for this coming weekend?"

Harper nodded.

"Do you think you can handle coming home every night?"

"To do what?"

"To do what you usually do when you come home," Alex explained. "You know, eating dinner while watching t.v. after everyone had already gone to sleep. Do your homework. Normal stuff."

"Every night, huh?" Harper repeated, her hands fidgeting. "It'll be hard but I guess I can try. But why every night?"

"Come on, Harper. Think about it," Alex sat up straighter as she explained. "You were wearing- - well, _that,"_ she beckoned to Harper's outfit, "and got a total reaction from him. If he keeps seeing you like that, you'll totally grow on him."

Harper made a face at her. "But, Alex, I don't know how to- - you know."

Alex raised her brows.

"You know," Harper tried again. "_Flirt."_

"Harper," Alex sighed, almost unbelieving what she was hearing. "Harper, you don't have to- - _flirt,"_ she emphasized by making quotation marks with her fingers. "Did I not just say that you're irresistible?"

Harper nodded, blushing.

Alex sighed again, fluffing the pillow she held in her arms. "If I know my brother, and _I do_, you won't have to do much. You already have his attention. Now all you have to do is not scare him away. So," Alex replaced the pillow on the bed and laid her head down, "just remember what I taught you, and try not to be too crazy."

"You mean try not to be too much like _me_?"

"Exactly!"

Harper nodded again, her hands still fidgeting. Her frown deepens as she looks up at her best friend. "Alex," she started. "What are you doing in my room?"

Alex pouts at her. "I got tired from painting and was too lazy to go up to my room."

Harper shook her head. "You can stay if you want, Alex." She crawls to the other side of the bed and settles herself down. "But I like sleeping with the lights off."

"You got it!" Alex claps her hands twice. The lights suddenly went out and darkness took over the room. The only source of light came from the tiny window above the washing machine and dryer.

Harper closed her eyes and sighs.

"Harper?" She heard Alex whisper. She mumbles inaudibly in response. "Harper, you're gonna knock him dead. I swear it."

Harper smiled before sleep finally took her over.

Much to Alex's disappointment, Harper was not able to come home for the next two days. Although this disappointment quickly faltered as Alex witnessed the reaction that Harper's absence caused to her older brother. She noticed too many times how much his gaze would travel to the door that led down to Harper's basement door, and a few times here and there, she would find him pacing back and forth on the ground floor area long after hours. He had even asked her slyly of Harper's well-being.

"So," he started, fidgeting with the dish towel in his hands. "Has Harper been by lately?"

Alex smirked for a bit, then gave him her best nonchalant expression. "Dunno," she replied simply with a shrug of her shoulders.

Another day passes and it almost seemed like Harper would still be absent. Justin had paid close attention to the apartment main studio room, leaving his bedroom door open so he could see if a hint of light would turn on even slightly. Finally, after the struck of two in the morning, he rubbed his eyes and decided to give up. He closed his bedroom door and turned on his fan on high. The heat immediately took over and he had to take off his shirt again as the sweat started to build on the back of his neck.

He laid himself down on his bed and closed his eyes, trying hard not to think about the uncomfortable curiosity that was slowly eating at him. Why he was so obsessed with Harper, he still wasn't sure. He had analyzed himself over and over again, and repeatedly insisted that it was because he wanted to ask her so many things, more specifically things that regarded her new look. And then, every so often, a pained guilt creeps up on him. How this guilt came to be, he definitely didn't know. But somehow, he knew that the feeling was familiar. Justin just had to identify where the familiarity was based upon.

A soft thumping resonates from somewhere in his room. He chose to ignore. _Birds_, he thought to himself.

Attraction was out of the question. Justin had never known the word to be associated with any of his little sister's friend, let alone her _best friend_. Curiosity. That's all. Curiosity.

Two quick knocks on the door, and an inaudible voice. Justin quickly opens his eyes and sat up.

"Who's there?" he asked. The reply must be a whisper because he still could barely hear it.

Justin pushed himself off of his bed lazily, surprised at the moist on his body. Groaning at the uncomfortability that his sauna of a room was submitting him to, he trudged towards the door and yanked it open carelessly. He helplessly stares as his throat catches.

"Hey," Harper greeted. She held up two large and lidded cups in her hands. "Join me for an icee?"

Justin stares at her still, unconsciously moving his eyes up and down to take in the sight of her. She was dressed less casually this time, wearing a unicorn-patterned pajamas and a tank top that he knew to have belonged to her since junior high. Her hair, of which Justin had to remind himself now only barely reached her shoulders, had been tied back and a few strands had escaped and now invaded the frame of her round face.

Harper blushed. "Um, Justin?" she said again, finally breaking through to him. "Icee?"

Justin looks up at her, and nodded dumbly. He takes a cup in his hand and sips. Harper breathes a sigh of relief.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Wizards of Waverly Place. No profit is being made from writing this fiction.

Author's Note: …. I got nothing. Thank you for the reviews and please please Please keep supporting this story. ^_^

**A Familiar Pattern 5**

**By genielou**

Justin stepped aside, and Harper let herself in. She paced around the room slowly, nodding her head as she admired the different trinkets that decorated the tiny bedroom.

"Wow, I haven't been in this room for so long," she wondered outloud. "How nostalgic."

Justin smiled, then found himself thinking if he had ever invited Harper into his room at all. Pushing the thought aside, he took a long sip of his drink and swallowed with a deep, satisfying sigh. He took another long sip before endulging into her company.

"Thanks for the icee," he said, holding up his cup. "Where did you get one at this time of night?"

"From Alex's room." Justin made a face at her. "Next time you're in her room, look inside her dresser drawer. You'd be very surprised."

Justin nodded. He made his way towards the window and leaned against the sill. They remained silent for awhile longer, with him sipping his drink and Harper looking at anywhere else but him.

"So," Justin finally broke in. "Harper, I heard about your new school. How are you liking it?"

"It's okay," Harper replied with her back still to him, shrugging her shoulders. Somehow, the gesture reminded Justin of someone else.

He jumped slightly when she suddenly turned around to face him.

"Justin," she started. "The Super Hero Convention is next weekend. Are you attending this year?"

Justin's eyes widened. "The convention," he repeated. "I can't believe I forgot about that."

Harper grinned. "I've only gone that one time two years ago, and I was thinking of going again this year." She started pacing the room again, touching various trophies and medals as she passed by them. "You'll be attending this year, won't you?"

It sounded more like a confirmation than it did a question.

"Maybe. Yeah, sure," Justin said without even considering his schedule. "I'll be there."

Harper beamed. "Cool."

Harper picked up a watch from the bedside table and eyed it, all the while silently sipping her icee. Justin watched her from his perch, not knowing what to say to her.

"Well," she exaggerated. She replaced the watch where it had sat and turned to him suddenly. "See ya."

Justin quickly stood and watched her make her way across the room towards the door. "Oh," he said. "Okay."

Justin stayed still long after she had disappeared into the hallway, frowning.

"What just happened here?" he said outloud.

The next day passed by very slowly. Justin again lingered through his time, hoping to find Harper and have a more normal conversation with her, more for redemption than it was for assurance. He was quite aware of how ridiculous he was being in her presence and felt it of utter importance that he correct it.

"I don't know what's wrong with me," he confided in Max as they closed the restaurant for the night. "Everytime she pops up, I get tongue-tied."

"That's weird. I mean, it's just Harper, you know," Max replied, with a hint of a smirk in his feature. "The only reason I would ever get like that in front of a girl is if I was crushing on her."

Justin froze. "What?" he asked as he turned to his younger brother, chuckling nervously with a chair held upside down in his hands. "What did you just say?"

"Which part? The weird, the Harper, the you know, the reason, the get like that, or the crush?"

"Wha- -? The- - what?" Justin exasperated. "Do you realize that you just repeated everything but broke it down so that it didn't make sense?"

Max shrugged. "Made sense to me. So which part do you want?"

Justin shook his head at him. "Just repeat the whole thing in a way that _I _would understand it."

Max placed a chair upside down on a table, took a deep breath, and faced Justin. "I said: that's weird. I mean, it's just Harper, you know. The only reason I would ever get like that in front of a girl is if I was crushing on her."

Justin thought it over, but shook his head again. "That's a ridiculous. It's Harper. I'd crush on a fish before I'd crush on her."

"But you already did crush on a fish. Remember that mermaid you dated during your sophomore year?" Max said. "So if you get a crush on Harper, it would totally be valid."

Max was about to explain his logic further, but a dirty towel to his head stopped him.

Although the suggestion seemed absurd to Justin, it did, nonetheless, lingered in his mind. _A crush on Harper_, he thought. _There's just no way._

But the notion bothered him so much that he actually avoided the living room that night. He knew she was there. He was very sure of that from the television noise that he heard through his door. So despite the overwhelming heat that threatened to roast him alive, he kept his door closed, afraid that the sight of her would ignite Max's haunting words in his head into a full-grown paranoia. He lay awake until very early into the next morning, fanning himself with the latest issue of _TechnoFreaks_ magazine.

Fortunately, Justin worked the later shift the next day, and the rush didn't seem as busy as it had been since his arrival. The crowd had noticeably lessened, although the amount of customers proved steady during the duration of the day.

As the afternoon progressed, Alex quickened her pace to clean as many tables as she could. Justin approached her as she cleared a table inside the subtrain room and handed her a clean rag.

"Why are you in such a hurry?" he asked with a tint of suspicion in his tone; an unconscious habit that he'd developed when regarding his sister.

"I'm hungry," she answered without even glancing at him. "Plus, Harper will be here any minute now. We're eating together."

"Oh," Justin said. He picked up the tub of dirty dishes from the table. "Are you guys eating here?"

"Yup," she finally looks up at him. "After that, we're just gonna wing it. Unless Zeke comes over, and in that case, I'll need to find something else to entertain me." She looks at him sheepishly. "They get really mushy and gross when they're together."

Justin's mind momentarily escapes from him as the vision of Zeke leaning down to kiss Harper appeared in his head. The scene was making him feel strangely. He shook himself to try to get rid of it.

"Oh!" Alex exclaimed. "She's here."

Justin's gaze followed the direction that Alex pointed at and saw Harper. And boy, did he see her. She was even more unfamiliar than she had been the last two times that he saw her.

Her black shorts barely covered half of her thighs, making her legs look longer. Thin, red suspenders sprung up onto her shoulders, its purpose purely for looks than it was for function. She wore a simple white t-shirt that seemed to be too small for her, causing it to cling tightly onto her torso. His lips quirk at seeing the unicorn that glared at him from her shirt. Furthermore, Justin couldn't help but realize just how slim she had gotten when seeing her shape illuminated by her outfit.

Fingers snapped just inches from Justin's faces, waking him from his reverie. He looked at his sister who grinned at him knowingly.

The thin, high heels of Harper's black shoes clicked with each step as she approached them. Justin stiffened when she reached them.

"Hey, Justin," she greeted him shyly.

Alex nudged him when he didn't answer.

Harper shifted her weight nervously, causing Justin's eyes to turn towards her feet. His eyes seemed to work on their own as they surveyed her legs. "Uhm," he starts, his tone very high pitched. "Harper. Hey. You."

Harper noticed his gaze and smiled. This faded when she noticed her best friend flinging her arms about behind Justin. Alex made hand gestures here and there, and Harper frowned at her quizzically.

Alex held up her hands, her expression stricken, and made exaggerated movements as she inserted her hands into her front pockets. Harper's eyes widened with realization.

"So," she started, shifting her attention back to Justin. She put her hands inside her front pockets and straightened her arms. "Are you gonna join me and Alex for dinner?" The horizon that separated her shirt and shorts opened slightly, and reveals skin as her shorts are pushed down from the act.

Justin takes the bait and his eyes travel up to her stomach. The light color of her skin keeps him there.

"I'm sure your mom wouldn't mind if you took a short lunch break." Harper's bulky bracelets jangled as she moved a hand up to fluff the fixed curls of her shoulder-length hair. This causes Justin's eyes to move up to her face. She couldn't help but blush as he stared at her.

Fingers snapped in front of Justin's face again. He looks to his side at his grinning sibling.

He clears his throat. "Uhm, well, I guess I could," he stammered. "Well, I mean, that is, if you don't mind extra company."

"I mind!" Alex suddenly declared. She moved to Harper's side and hooked an arm in hers. "Sorry, Justin. This is a strictly scheduled bonding time for us. Maybe next time."

Alex turned and pulled Harper along with her. They walk out onto the main room of the restaurant, and Justin couldn't help but watch them go, his eyes mainly focused on only one of them. He tilts his head to the side as he admired the view.

Suddenly a group of kids yelled loudly and ran pass him. They knock the tub of dishes from his hands and it fell with a loud clatter. He heard a yell of apologies and laughter as they ran out of the restaurant.

He looks up again just in time to see Alex and Harper reach the cashier counter where Max stood by. Harper leaned into the counter, causing her butt to lift up. Justin found himself admiring again, and blinked when he realized what he had been doing.

"What am I doing?" he asked himself. "It's Harper. What the hell is wrong with me?"


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I own Wizards of Waverly Place. SIKE! Kidding! I don't own shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitttt!

Author's Note: Hello! How is it so far? Not too controversial, right? I didn't want to start that until later. Anyhoo, I would like to thank everyone for supporting this fic again. Sorry it took a bit longer to upload the new chapter this time. The new school year is upon us and I've been busy preparing for it.

Speaking of which, I would also like to announce that after this chapter, the later chapter will definitely take longer than usual to upload. I go to a private art college and things get pretty hectic with my schedule. So please, please, PLEASE don't lose hope on this story as time goes by. Please be patient with me. I promise I won't abandon it.

And so, on with the story. Hope you enjoy!

**A Familiar Pattern 6**

**By genielou**

"He's looking, he's looking, he's not looking, he's looking again. Eyes getting wider, wider, wider- - oh, he has that look on his face. Yup, he's freaking out. Freaking out, freaking out, constipated- - no. Still freaking out," Max narrated as he kept his eyes on his older brother.

Harper frowned. "Alex, the counter is hurting my stomach."

"Just a bit longer, Harper," Alex urged. "Max, status."

"He looks constipated again. Constipated, constipated- - oh! He just dropped his tub of dishes. He's angry, upset, constipated? Again? Whatever. Oop, wait a minute. Is he- -? Yup, he is. He's pulling at his hair.

"Perfect!" Alex exclaimed. "Alright, Harper, face me."

Harper did as she was told.

"Yawn."

Harper frowned at her, but did it anyway. She opened her mouth wide and yawned loudly. Even Max raised an eyebrow at her.

"No, you goof! Yawn and stretch! Like you just got out of bed."

Harper yawned again, but this time with her arms outstretched. She arched her entire body and stretched to her fullest, causing her chest to stick out and her shirt to rise.

"How are we doing, Max?" Alex asked. Max turned his attention back to where Justin was cleaning his mess. When Justin's head popped back up in vision, his eyes quickly zeroed in on Harper again.

"He's staring again. Mouth open."

_Crash._

"Oh. Oh no. Yeah, he dropped his tub again. That's embarrassing."

Justin disappeared again to clean his mess while Alex whooped and hollered.

"Awesome!" she said excitedly, slapping a hand on Harper's shoulder. "Alright, let's go."

"Wait. That's it for today?" Harper asked her, worry showing on her features. "He hasn't seen me all day, and now that I finally get here, I only stay for barely five minutes?"

Alex eyed her warily. "Oh, Harper," she started. "My dear, dear Harper. As the Spice Girls once lectured to the international vastness of the male ignorance, 'too much of something is bad enough.' Now, let's go wander about town and cause trouble while Justin spends the rest of his night thinking about you."

Max watched his older sister hook an arm onto Harper's and escort her to the door, all the while hearing her complain, "What's a Spice Girl?"

When Justin finally popped back up from his crouched position on the floor, the entrance doors had already swung shut, and the pair passed by the glass windows. His gaze followed them as they disappeared into the crowded street of Waverly Place. Max eyed him sympathetically as Justin made his way towards the kitchen.

Max leaned on the counter to get a better look at him. "Dude, what's up with you? Dropping plates? Making a mess?" he mocked. "I'm ashamed of you."

Justin sighed from the kitchen sink. "I need a jog or something. This place is throwing me off completely." He said over the loud swooshing of the faucet. He cupped his hands under the flow of water, gathering as much as he could, and splashed his face with it. "Max," he started, turning around to face his younger sibling. "Something is wrong with me."

"You need some stool softener? Or, if it's not that bad, a few Tums should do the trick."

Justin threw an irritated look at him. "It's Harper, Max," he scowled. "Whenever she's around, I get all weird. What the hell is wrong with me?"

Max sighed. "Justin, Justin, Justin," he repeated. "Brother, bro. I cannot _believe _how unaware you are at your own naivete."

"Huh," Justin raised an eyebrow at him. "You know what those words mean?"

"Of course I do, Justin. Please don't insult me." He scoffed. "It means that we have the same mother. Duh." Max followed Justin as he walked out of the kitchen and settled himself on the stool in front of the register. "Justin, I'm gonna help you out here, alright? Is that alright with you?"

Justin frowned at him. "All. Riiight." He said through gritted teeth.

"Okay, let's discuss Harper." Max started. "You, my brother, have not been around for a while. And the last time you saw Harper was almost a year ago. Am I correct?"

"Yes."

"Whereas I, on the other hand, had been living under the same roof as her while you've been away. Am I right?"

"Is there a point to this?"

"Yes. Please stay tuned." Max paced his way to Justin's other side. "I watched Harper slave away on the threadmill, eat less than a plate of food a day, practice walking on very high heels, of which increased with every month or so, while you were, for lack of a better word, _absent_."

"I was at school."

"Excuses!" Max pointed a finger at him accusingly, then paced to his other side again. "The changes were there, oh yes. But I was with her the entire time that she did all of these things to herself. I was used to the way she looked. But you, my dear brother, was not. Am I correct?"

Justin didn't even dignify him with an answer.

"Tell me, Justin. What _has _changed about her?"

Justin thought to himself. "She's a lot thinner."

"She hasn't been eating."

"She's actually very fit."

"Exercise!"

Justin eyed him warily. "She doesn't dress as loud as she used to."

"The heels!"

Justin frowned at him. "She looks, uh, well, very nice."

"Don't hold yourself back! Be honest with yourself!"

The other occupants of the restaurant now looked at Max. "This does not concern you lot!" he yelled over them with his arms up high. "Please keep eating your overpriced sandwiches!"

"Max, knock it off!" Justin hissed at him.

"Sorry," Max told him. "Alright, I'm back. Whew. I got excited there." He turned to Justin. "Justin, man, be honest. She's not just _nice. _What is she?"

Justin hesitated. "I guess I should admit it," he cringed. "Harper is…"

"Say it."

"She's pretty hot."

"Hallelujah!"

A few customers picked up their sandwiches and headed towards the doors.

"I guess I just didn't want to actually voice it out, but Harper has changed a lot since the last time I saw her." Justin looked out into the slowly emptying restaurant, his eyed hazed over. "I'm still trying to accept it. Harper is actually very attractive."

"Bingo! And that is the reason why you act stupid around her."

His gaze turned back to Max. "You think I'm attracted to her?"

"Is the sky blue?"

"But that's not possible," Justin exclaimed. "This is Harper we're talking about. Harper. Alex's best friend, Harper. The Russo's almost second daughter, Harper. We grew up with her. It's just not possible."

Max shook his head. "Justin, come on. Sure, she's all that stuff, but you're forgetting, she's also a _girl."_

Justin hung his head. His brother's words, although irritating and mocking at best, made a lot of sense. Harper was now undeniably attractive and he _was _undeniably attracted to her. But it defied so many unspoken rules that he did not want to cross. Two of the most important ones were that she was his little sister's best friend, and that she was his former best friend's current girlfriend.

_Oh my gosh_, he thought. _Zeke._

"She's Zeke's girlfriend," he told Max. "This is wrong."

"You haven't done anything. Technically, nothing is wrong."

Justin looked hopefully at his brother.

"Yet."

He groaned loudly, burying his face in his hands.

"The good news is that I have an idea," Max declared. "I know how you can get rid of this crush."

Justin lifted his head. "You know how I can get over her?"

"Oh yeah," Max beamed at him. He leaned closer and beckoned for Justin to do the same. When their heads were close together, he whispered. "Go out with her."

"What?"

"Go out with her."

"That's your great idea?" Justin flailed his arms at him. "She's my best friend's girlfriend!"

"He doesn't have to know."

"Oh, he doesn't have to know," Justin repeated. He jumped up and paced around the counter. "Max, please realize this because I don't think I have the patience to explain it to you. I would be. Going out. With my best. Friend's. Girlfriend!"

Max held his hands up. "Okay, okay, I see where this might not sit too well with you. But let's just say that you don't really _go out_ with her. Let's say you just _hang_ _out_ with her. A lot. And while doing so, you try to find things that you don't like about her. Or find the things that used to irritate you about her. And when you do, you'll be naturally repulsed, and you'll get over her. Period. End of story. And then you'll be all packed up and back to your school without any thoughts that any of this ever happened."

Justin stopped his pacing and turned to him. "Hang out with her."

Max nodded. "Yes."

Justin took a step toward Max. "_Not_ go out with her."

"Correct, sir."

"I don't have to flirt with her."

"But no one will judge you if you did because that can happen naturally."

Justin ignored that and took another step forward. "And when I find something I don't like about her, all of _this,_" he flailed his arms around again, "will stop."

"Absolutely."

Justin stopped in front of the counter, his eyes full of hope. "I think that just might work."

Max grinned at him and held out his hand. Justin shook it eagerly, his mind going through a thousand scenarios on how he could find things about Harper that would repel him. With another wide grin as his final declaration of encouragement, he grabbed a rag off of the counter and turned towards the restaurant, eager to get back to work. He stopped when his eyes skimmed through the entire room.

"Where did everybody go?"

Harper awoke very early the next morning to the loud grumbling of her own stomach. Drinking five large cups of iced water with not even a single cracker for solid food had been a very bad idea of a dinner, but she did it anyway. Getting her body to look the way it did had been a long and hard road, but she did it, and she thought it stupid to jeopardize that for anything; especially now that the reason for going through all of that was now sleeping and residing in the same building as her. She needed to make sure that she stayed thin, if even for just these next few weeks.

She pushed herself off of her bed and made her way towards her closet. Quickly picking out her clothes for the day and a towel, she climbed up the stairs to her basement room door with heavy footsteps. The trek towards the spiral staircase that led to the Russo apartment was even slower, with her feet shuffling each step forward.

There were so many things in her mind, mostly concerning the boy that she had pined for since kindergarten. Keeping her composure for the past week had been so tiring. She constantly had to act like she was fine, which, and this fact is only obviously evident to her and her best friend, she was definitely _not_. She thought she was over him. She thought she was over it. Sure, she did a lot of things to better herself, but she didn't really think that she was doing it for him. She didn't think that she did it to get his attention. She had a boyfriend, for goodness's sake, and Zeke had been more than wonderful to her. So why is she doing this now? Is it payback? Was she still holding a grudge against those hurtful words that he aimed at her a year ago, albeit not the way that he had probably intended but nonetheless made a direct hit? And now she wanted revenge for it?

That can't be it. Harper had never been known to hold a grudge. She had Alex for a best friend, and that's proof enough that she was not one to do such a thing.

So why did she do it? It was tiring her so much, so why is she doing it?

She doesn't still… like him. Does she?

Finally reaching the bathroom that she always used, the one right next to kitchen, she trudged inside and shut the door as softly as she could. It was too early in the morning and the rest of the Russo family was most likely still in bed. This had been her habit since she started at her new school. Wake up way before the sun rises, take a shower, try not to wake anyone up, especially Mr. and Mrs. Russo, and set out for school. It was exhausting, but such a great opportunity to be offered into the summer's program was not something that befalls on just anyone's lap. It was a well-worth sacrifice.

The cold shower cooled her body from the night's heat and she sighed appreciatively. She quickly scrubbed herself clean and dried herself off. Her eyes momentarily lingered on her reflection on the full-scale mirror as she got out of the shower. She posed every which way, checking the shape of her body as she did so.

_Wow_, she thought. _I barely recognize myself if I don't look at my face._

She dressed and wrapped a towel on her wet hair, creating a turban on top of her head. She gathered her dirty clothes, opened the door, and quickly walked out. She gasped loudly as she collided into a hard, but strangely soft surface. Her mind registered when she glanced down at her clothes scattered on a pair of bare feet.

"Oh!" she exclaimed. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Russo."

She frantically grabbed at her clothes as another pair of hands tried to help her.

"Thank you, sir," she said as he held her shirt out to her. "I'm sorry, I didn't think you'd be up so ear… ly…"

Her eyes widened.

"No worries," Justin told her. "I've been up for awhile."

They both slowly got up. She couldn't help but stare at him with her mouth slightly open.

Justin blushed. "Uh, here."

Her eyes widened when she realized what he was holding out to her. Her cheeks reddened as she grabbed the bra from his hand. Justin blushed even more, but smiled regardless, as Harper's reaction gave him a sense of familiarity.

"Uhm," she started, her eyes averted from looking at him. "It's really early."

"Yeah, I know," Justin smiled at her sheepishly. "I wanted to see if maybe I could walk you to the subway station."

Harper lifted her head, and she gaped at him. "Walk me? To the subway station?"

Justin placed his hands in his pajamas' pockets, and stared at his feet. "Yeah," he said. "I've been thinking, you leave so early and come so late. It can get pretty dangerous out there." He looked up at her. "So, would you mind if I walk with you?"

There was a long pause before Harper regained herself. She took a deep breath, and answered. "You don't have to."

He smiled at her again, and this time, his dimples showed. "I'd really prefer to walk you.

Harper's mind was going crazy. Here was the guy she had been working so hard for, right in front of her, asking to accompany her early in the morning to make sure she was safe.

"Uhm, uh, sure," she stuttered. "I would, uh, like that. Yeah. I'd like that."


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do now own Wizards of Waverly Place. No profit is being made from releasing this fiction.

Author's Note: There are so many new WOWP episodes! I can't keep up with them. I almost wished they'd slow down. I heard Mason is coming back for an hour long episode this October? I hope I catch that.

And again, thank you thank you THANK YOU for the support and patience. Some of you always leave a review with each chapter that comes out, and I really do appreciate it. You may not think I notice, but I definitely do. I'm starting to recognize user names. You guys are awesome!

Also, in response to _Maggs_'s comment: Unfortunately, I don't have any co-authors or author-friends in this site. I'm kind of a lone wolf. But I think the best way to encourage other authors to write about Jarper is to just support the ones that are already out there. Make sure to leave good comments like the one that you left me. Btw, thank you for the kind words. I really do appreciate all Jarper fans out there.

On with the story. Enjoy!

**A Familiar Pattern 7**

**By genielou**

Harper twisted a button on her cardigan as she nervously glanced at Justin. She still couldn't believe it. Justin had actually woken up very early in the morning to walk her to the subway. Justin. The boy that just a few hours ago was still barely speaking a few words to her. Justin, who Alex had insisted was showing signs of attraction towards her, but she begged to differ. Justin who she thought hinted awkwardness even now as she walked side by side with him under an orange sky. She had tried hard to keep the casual conversation going, and Justin was definitely making it easy. In fact, he led most of the topics of their discussions. Although, despite Harper's exterior composure, her nerves were most undeniably on overdrive.

"And so I started wearing my mouth-guard while I jump rope," Justin concluded. Harper nodded and smiled at a story that only she had the patience to tolerate.

"I know the feeling," she chided. "Sometimes I wear thimbles on all ten fingers."

Justin chuckled, and the sound was like chimes of bells to Harper's ears. They slowly approached the opening that led down to the subway station. Young teenagers with backpacks and men in suits came from all directions, hurrying down the stairs.

"Wow, there are a lot of people."

Harper nodded. "Yup. You'd be surprised at how many people actually travel this early in the morning."

"Yeah, no kidding," Justin agreed. He paused at the top of the stairs and held out a hand. "M'lady?"

Harper bit her lip and blushed. She took his hand, her chest tightening as his fingers enclosed lightly over hers. Justin took the small tool box that she held in her other hand, and slowly proceeded towards the stairs. He glanced constantly at her with each step he took, almost as if he was afraid that she would suddenly disappear.

"How very gentlemanly of you," she muttered, her lips pursing to contain her smile.

"Why, thank you," Justin said. "I am, after all, your escort at the moment. I should make sure that you get to your carriage unharmed."

It took a lot out of Harper to suppress her giggle, but her grin was very evident.

The clacking of women's stiletto shoes invaded the peaceful silence, causing Justin to turn his head and notice the few women who displayed very fashionable taste for such an early venture. He turned his attention back to Harper, and took in the sight of her outfit again.

"So," he started. "I guess you have to dress like that everyday?"

"Oh, yeah. You gotta have the right look if you're going to be part of the business," she said, although in her mind, she was screaming _Liar! _at herself. Dressing up was not a requirement in her summer classes. She was actually planning on just wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt for the day. But as soon as Justin offered to escort her to the station, she had hurried back into her room and frantically looked for an outfit to wear. Once decided, she quickly exchanged her clothes for a purple sundress, and snapped a wide, red belt on her waist. She finished her look with a half-sleeve cardigan with glittery buttons, multi-colored bracelets, and ballerina slippers. She wore her favorite cupcake earrings for good measure.

"Well, you look really nice," he told her, a slight shade of pink invading his cheeks.

She was over-dressed for a school day, but at least she was impressing Justin.

"In fact, standing next to you makes me feel so out of place," he continued. "Maybe next time, you should dress me before we go out in public together."

She knew it meant nothing, but the word 'together' still caused her to giggle. "Oh, Justin, you look just fine. It doesn't really matter to me if you dress up. Zeke never dresses up when he's with him and that never bothered me."

_Zeke_. The name snapped Justin back to reality. What was wrong with him? He was supposed to be looking for something he didn't like about Harper, and here he was, strolling alongside her under lamp-lit streets and beautiful skyscape. The atmosphere was all wrong! Well, actually it was just right. Oh boy, it was such a nice atmosphere; he just felt so comfortable around her. But it wasn't right for what he was trying to accomplish. And now, hearing her actual boyfriend's name released him from the spell of the scene that almost resembled a romantic cliché. He had to stop flirting with her.

Oh, but she's making it so natural for him to act this way around her. No! Stop it. Retreat now! Retreat!

As soon as they reached the landing, Justin let her go and handed her toolbox to her.

"Am I gonna see you tonight?" _Stupid! Stop flirting!_

Harper smiled reassuringly. "I'll try to come home. But I might be late so don't wait up for me."

Justin nodded, and waved as she walked away. He stayed and watched as she inserted her card through a machinery, and squeezed through the metal bars that passed her through to the station. She turned around, glanced at him, and smiled, then walked away. Justin made sure she was out of sight before walking back up the stairs.

_First encounter, failure. No faults found on Harper Finkle_. He noted to himself. _Reminder to self: don't flirt tonight_.

He grimaced. _I'll try._

Meanwhile, in the subway, Harper fidgeted with giddiness all the way to her stop. She was happy. Very happy. Everything is going according to plan and she just couldn't believe it. She would have to tell Alex as soon as possible to get some advice out of her, but that wouldn't be until around noon when Alex would finally awaken.

As hard as it was, Harper actually got through her day just fine; albeit a little distracted, but at least she was able to get through her work load. She was nervous. Time had been ticking by slowly during the day, but as the night dragged on, time suddenly seemed to speed up. With each minute that passed, she knew that she was getting closer to seeing Justin again. Alex had said to remain calm and cool when she comes home. Well, easy for her to say.

The day's work left Harper exhausted. Her fingers were twitching, and her eyes were tired from looking through at least a hundred different patterns of fabric. Add the thoughts of that night's anticipation and she was almost drained. She was fairly tempted to retire in her dorm for the night, but the motivation of seeing Justin again overruled that desire. After taking a short nap in the school library, she dragged herself to the station, blanked out as she waited for her subway, and was thankful to finally plop down onto a seat when her train arrived.

She tried to think about what she would said as soon as she got home. She needed to think of just the right topic to keep Justin entertained. _Think, Harper, think. You've trained yourself for this. Think. Captain Bob Sherwood. Science. Working out. Healthy foods. Books. Old foreign movies. _She quickly went through her mental list of Justin topics and she knew quite a lot, but everytime she tried to focus on one subject, she couldn't go far enough with it. Her brain was too tired to think clearly. Finally opting to think about a topic later on the walk home, she leaned her head back onto her seat and stared blankly at the ceiling.

When her stop came, she pushed herself up and out of the train. The stairs were an even bigger obstacle. She took each step slowly and carefully. _Hungry_, she thought. Breakfast had been her only meal, and she had kept herself full with water for the entire day. It was extremely bad, she knew that, but the thought of impressing Justin had gone through her head all day. She wanted to look good for him, so she skipped her meals. _Stupid decision._

When she reached the top floor, she stomped her foot down hard on the ground in frustration. She heard the slurp of some sort of drink very nearby. The tease caused her stomach to stir painfully and grumble loudly.

"You like watermelon, right?"

She looked up in disbelief.

"I wasn't sure what flavor you'd like," Justin said sheepishly. "Max said that you like to blend watermelon smoothies at home. Hopefully, artificial flavoring is okay too."

She grinned at him. "Artificial flavor would be great," she said. She reached out and accepted the cup of icee was Justin. Releasing all composure, she took a long sip from the cup, letting her stomach dwell in the pleasure. Justin just watched her silently.

"Sorry," she told him, after gulping almost half of her cup. "I was really thirsty."

"Oh, well then, be my guest. Please drink some more," he grinned. Justin took a sip of his own as to not let her feel uncomfortable as she accepted the offer. "In fact," he started after releasing his straw, "I was really hoping that you'd be hungry. I haven't had dinner yet, and thought that maybe you would like to join me."

Harper couldn't believe it. It was like her prayer was being answered in a very generous way. _God, you're totally awesome! _"I'm famished. Let's go."

"Alright, great," Justin said. He grabbed Harper's toolbox and started ahead of her. Harper blushed and followed along, almost skipping despite her exhaustion.

"It's great to see you again, Justin, but you didn't have to meet me here," she told him, then took another sip of her drink. "It's already so late."

"I don't mind," Justin turned to her with a smile. "I just finished closing up the restaurant and thought I should just head here and wait. I was really looking forward to seeing you again."

Justin winced at the slip of his tongue. _No flirting, remember? _He turned to her, and his thoughts were quickly distinguished. He also couldn't help but think of how cute she looked when she blushed.

He led the way to a famous juice bar that was especially famous staying open late for college students and nighttime workers. Once inside, he quickly ordered his usual vegetable pita wrap and spinach shake.

Harper grimaced at his choice of food, but felt it necessary to stay within the diet that she had created for herself, especially at this very time. She ordered a salad with no dressing and a glass of water.

As they ate their dinners, Harper slowly found herself engrossed in their conversation. No special topic of the sort was at hand; they kept switching subjects, from the weather forecast to latest movie releases. Somewhere between bites, she even found out that they had been watching the same new cartoon on the television that had started airing right after they lost contact with each other.

"My roommate thinks I'm nuts, but I'm pretty sure the show is juxtaposing modern preference and the old tradition of actually making your own fun."

"Oh my god, Justin, that's what I said when I first saw the show!" she exclaimed. "I've tried explaining it to Alex, but she just told me that I'm overanalyzing it. I've always thought that the show might be that channel's technique of positive propaganda to get today's kids motivated into doing physical activities that didn't necessarily exclude technology."

"Right!" Justin agreed, pointing a finger at her to reiterate the point. "And to use technology with imagination, instead of letting technology imagine for you!"

"Although," she said, breaking the excitement and casting doubt into their sudden chemistry. "If their daily summer activities speak about today's society, then what about the platypus? What's the meaning behind a secret agent platypus?"

Justin lifted a finger to his chin in thought. "Well," he started, and Harper leaned on the table in anticipation. "I suppose… it is because… it's… kinda cool to have a pet platypus that can also kick super villain ass?"

Harper blinked. Her lips slowly widened to a grin and then she laughed out loud. Justin joined in, and soon after, the other occupants of the tiny restaurant were staring at them. They both had to cover their mouths to restrain themselves.

Justin heaved a sigh when they finally stopped laughing. He couldn't remember the last time he had had so much fun, let alone in such a casual meeting.

They went back to eating, and he eyed her food as she nibbled on the leaves on her plate.

"Harper," he started. "I've been meaning to ask. What's with all the diet food?"

Harper looked up at him, and thought carefully of what to say. "I, uh, well," she stammered. "I just want to eat healthier. So I've been very careful with what I eat."

Justin nodded as he took a bite of his wrap. He swallowed before continuing. "Well, no complaints here. You look really good now that you've lost a bit of your baby fat."

"Baby fat?" Harper repeated, not sure if she should be offended.

"Yeah," Justin continued, clearly not concentrating on what he was saying. "When I left for college, you still looked a bit puffy. You weren't fat or anything but, you know, you weren't really that thin either."

Justin took another bite of his wrap. He took a long swig of his shake and swallowed. Before he could take another bite of his wrap, he finally took notice of the growing silence and looked up at a sulking Harper, staring intently at her salad. He frowned when he realized what he had done.

"Oh no," he said. "Oh, Harper. I didn't mean it that way. I just meant that you look really different now. Good different."

Harper looked up at him, the insult of her previous body shape still pricking at her chest. "No, of course you didn't mean anything by it, Justin. I know," she told him, trying to plaster a smile on her face, but unsuccessfully. "I'm proud of how I am now, but, you know, I didn't really think I looked that bad back then either."

She pushed her plate away and grabbed her glass of water. Justin just stared at her as she drank its entirety, and slammed it down onto the table with more force than she had intended.

"I'm full," she declared. Without another word, Harper suddenly stood up, grabbed her tool box that was settled near Justin's feet, and ran for the door. It took a few seconds for the event to hit Justin before his mind kicked into gear.

"Harper!" he yelled as he pushed himself up and ran after her.

Harper ran surprisingly fast, thanks to her weekly jogging. When she turned her head and saw Justin easily narrowing the distance between them, she ran faster. She turned right and hid behind a trash can. When Justin passed by without seeing her, she stood up and ran towards the opposite direction. She thought she had lost him, but just as she was about to turn into an alleyway shortcut that she usually used to get him, she felt a force push her back. She stumbled backwards for a bit, and when she was finally able to look up, she saw what looked to be a transparent barrier that distorted her view of everything else. She turned around and saw, through distorted vision, Justin with his wand pointed at her.

"I'm sorry. I don't usually resort to magic but I was desperate."

Harper fidgeted with her tool box. "Make this thing go away. I was just going home, that's all," she smiled awkwardly. "We're cool. Really. We're good."

"No, we're not," Justin said. He lowered his wand. "Harper, please listen to me. I- - I didn't mean what I said. I'm an idiot, you know. You've known this since we were kids. What I said, it's not what I really meant to say."

"Right, right. No, I understand." Harper smiled awkwardly again, but Justin could see the strain on her cheeks. He looked at her warily as he felt a pang of guilt squeeze in his chest. "Let's just go home. We're okay, really."

Justin shook his head, frowning. "Harper," he started, taking a step towards her. "You were just fine back then, and you're fine now."

"Fine. I know. Just fine," she fidgeted. She was freaking out, and she knew it, but she couldn't control herself. "But I just need to grow up. And that's what I did. I did a lot of things to try to grow up." It might be the fatigue or the stress of that past month's worth of workload, because she really couldn't control herself. "And I think I did. And you noticed it. That's a good thing. But it's just that- - " her face wrinkled as she tried to look for the words. "It's just that, well, you noticed, you know. So that means that I really was that bad back then. I didn't think I was really that bad, but if you think I look good now then that means I must have been- - must have been- -"

Her speech cut off as she started to hiccup. She was trying hard not to cry.

Justin stared at her, not sure if he had caught everything that she had said. Something about growing up and him noticing. He approached her slowly. Lifting his wand, he touched the bubble with its tip, and tucked it away into his back pocket as soon as the bubble disappeared. He placed both hands on her shoulders and lowered his head to hers, tilting to make sure she was looking at him.

"I'm sorry," he told her. "I'm not really quite sure what this is, but I know I don't like it. Can we… Can we forget that the last ten minutes didn't happen? Let's just get on with the rest of the night, okay?"

She looked up at him, gazing into his eyes, and felt herself calm down. He lifted a hand to her face, and ran a thumb near her eye, wiping a tear that threatened to slide down.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I don't know what came over me. I'm just tired, that's all."

Justin smiled down at her. "You have nothing to apologize for."

Harper nodded vigorously, and pulled away from him. She rubbed a hand on her cheeks to make sure no tears had stained her face.

"Can we just go home?" she asked.

Justin looked warily at her. "Okay," he said. "But we can't go home with you looking like that. Whoever's awake will get nosy and will definitely get worried."

He took her hand in his and reached for his wand.

"Wait," she said. "What are you doing?"

He smiled at her. "Trust me."

With a flick of his wand, they both disappeared and reappeared on a rooftop overlooking a suburban neighborhood. From the looks of the fancy houses and buildings, Harper guessed that they were somewhere in upstate New York.

"Where are we?"

Justin grinned at her. "My favorite place. The rooftop of the science building of my school."

Her eyes widened. She didn't know what to think. Less than a minute ago, she was upset over words that were unintentionally expressed, and now she's alone on a rooftop beneath the stars with the boy of her dreams. She was nervous. She's not ready for this.

"Relax." Justin told her. He took her toolbox from her and placed a hand to her elbow. "Come on, I'll show you where I live."

He pulled gently along. She followed slowly, hearing the crunch of her steps on the tiny gravel of the rooftop. Justin settled her toolbox on the ledge and pointed to a building a block away.

"There," he said. "Not too far away, right? That's how I knew about this place. I saw it one day while I was on my balcony. I was really frustrated with a project and needed to get away from people, so I zapped myself here where I can be alone."

He smiled softly at her, hoping to distract her from what had unfortunately transpired not too long ago. He gestured up towards the sky. "The view is incredible too, of course."

And he was right. Harper tilted her head up and wowed at the stars twinkling brightly. "They're never this bright at Waverly Place."

"Yeah," Justin sighed. "It's because of the area. There are lesser lights here. It's darker. In this area, you are at the mercy of the stars and the moon. They are the ones that light up your way."

Harper nodded blankly, still entranced by the little tiny lights in the sky. Justin stared at her as she kept her head up. He smiled at her admiration.

"Harper," he said. "You're beautiful."

She looked at him.

"Back then, you were cute as a girl. Despite what I said, being the dummy that I am, I really did think you were cute. Not just cute as in you're-like-my-sister-cute, but cute in terms of being an attractive-girl-cute. And now," he took a deep breath. He was finally going to admit it, not as part of an apology, but because deep down, he really wanted her to know. "Now, you're beautiful. As a woman. You should know that."

Her face remained blank. The words were registering in her mind, but she still couldn't believe it. Of all the scenarios that she had thought out, this was never part of it. How does she respond?

"Come on," he said. He took the toolbox, handed it to her, and took her other hand in his. "Let's go home."

With a flick of his wand, they reappeared inside the Substation Restaurant. He quietly walked her to her door. He waited even more silently as she fumbled through her keys and opened her door.

Before she could go in, he placed a hand on her shoulder and turned her around. Then, still silently, he leaned down. She held her breath as his head tilted to the side. She closed her eyes and felt the brush of his cheek on hers, then the pressing of his lips to her cheek. It went as quickly as it had come, but it still felt like slow motion to her.

"Good night, Harper," he said.

She nodded and walked into her room. As she turned to close her door, she saw him still standing there, waiting for her. She smiled at him before finally closing her door shut.

She leaned against the door and heaved a huge sigh. She reached up to touch her cheek, and her lips widened to a shy smile.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own Wizards of Waverly Place.

Author's Note: I love the feedback from the last chapter. It was like _Oh he's gonna kiss her, _and then it was like _Psych! Gotcha! _Haha! You guys are awesome! Sorry for the numerous mistakes. To be honest, I actually didn't proofread it. I was in a haste to get it out there because I was so excited to get on with the story. I promise to try harder.

And now, on with the story!

**A Familiar Pattern 8**

**By genielou**

Justin kept his legs moving as he pressed the button to cross the street, despite the absence of cars. It was barely 4:30 in the morning, the usual time that he spent to jog. Except for the previous day when he had chosen to escort Harper to her school.

_Harper._

There was no escaping it. A mile had come and gone, but she was still plaguing his mind. More specifically, his actions towards her plagued his mind.

_I kissed her. Well, not really. It doesn't really count 'cause it was on the cheek, does it? Oh god, I kissed her on the cheek._

The sign for pedestrians started blinking. Justin started to jog across the street. As he was about to step onto the curb, he suddenly ran into a tall counter top cluttered with wizarding potions and gadgets. He grabbed its edges as he winced in pain.

"Why, hello brother."

Justin followed the sound of Max's voice, and found him just as Max was lowering his wand. He was lounged on their father's favorite lazy boy couch in the Wizard's Lair, still in his pajamas.

"Max!" Justin huffed. "What's the deal?"

"Interesting." Max narrowed his eyes at him while he drummed his fingers together. "I was about to ask you that very. Same. Question."

Justin took a step closer to him. "Max," he started slowly. "Talk."

Max cleared his throat. "Well, my dear brother. I was awakened very early in the morning by the surveillance parrot. Julia claimed that she saw something very important the previous night that I really should know about."

Justin was about to urge him further but paused. He thought about what Max had said, and decided to redirect his question to the stranger facts of Max's teasing. "I'm sorry," he said. "Who's Julia?"

Max frowned at him. "I just told you. My surveillance parrot."

Justin frowned. "Surveillance. Parrot?"

"Right," Max reiterated. "Surveillance parrot."

Justin sighed. There was no point in questioning him further concerning that. "Nothing happened last night."

"Oh really?" Max said. "Let's ask Julia, shall we?"

Max clapped his hands twice. A red parrot flew in from the opened door that led into the kitchen. It landed gracefully on Max's shoulder.

"Julia," Max aimed at the bird. "Please tell Justin what you told me."

The parrot gwaucked and turned its head towards Justin. "Justin kissed Harper on the cheek. Justin kissed Harper on the cheek."

Max nodded, satisfied. "Thank you, Julia. That will be all."

The bird flew away. And Justin could've sworn that it glared at him before it did so.

Max stared curiously at Justin. "Please explain."

Justin groaned inwardly. Somehow, he was already expecting this. He just didn't think that it would be so soon. "Max," he started. "It was…. _Complicated_."

"Alright," Max said. "Explain further please."

"I said something stupid, and Harper got offended and cried a little. I was just trying to make her feel better. The kiss was nothing. It was a friendly kiss."

"Uh-huh."

"Nothing more."

"Don't have to convince me."

Justin eyed him warily. And Max matched him with an equally intense stare. Justin heaved a huge sigh. "Max," he started. "Just say it."

"Okay," Max replied. "It's nothing really. I was just wondering how you got from 'finding something bad about Harper' to 'kissing her goodnight.'" Max grinned slyly. "I have nothing against it. I was just really curious."

Justin blinked. Knowing his little brother, he was most likely being honest. He sighed heavily again, walked to a couch and plopped himself down. "I don't know," he said dejectedly while burying his face in his hands. "It was an impulse, Max. I really have no idea why I did that."

"Hey, no big deal, you know. You said she was crying. I probably would've done the same thing," Max replied, then frowned to himself. "Well, not really. I probably would've patted her on the head and bought her a taco."

Justin shook his head at Max. "I keep trying to think of why I did that, Max. I can't figure it out."

Max grinned even wider. "Fascinating," he said as he tried hard to suppress a chuckle. "Did you at least find something bad about her? Anything that you don't like about her?"

Justin thought hard before answering. "She doesn't eat that much," he said. "It's not something distinct that I'd hate about her, but it is a bit concerning."

"Anything else?" Max asked.

It took a moment for Justin to answer again. He took a deep breath and replied with a firm shake of his head.

"Right," Max continued. "So. There's nothing about her that you don't like, and you kissed her on the cheek." He raised his brows at him. "Sounds like you're crushing on her, man. Are you sure this isn't a crush, Justin?"

"Yes, I'm very sure." _No, I'm definitely not._

The rest of the day was spent without event, but there was one absolute lack that Justin couldn't help but notice. Harper was nowhere to be found. He had knocked on her door as soon as the day started but there was no answer. He tried again right before his shift at the Substation started at noon, and still there was nothing. He had even tried his sister's room during his lunch break. Alex was not there, which was not a complete surprise seeing as it was a Friday and she was usually out and about whenever she had it off. After trying to call Harper's cellphone during another short break and getting her voicemail, he finally gave up and just tried to keep himself busy for the rest of the day.

He really wanted to talk to her, to hopefully clear things up before anything reaches Zeke. After much deliberation with Max (and the surveillance parrot who Max thought could as the control factor in their argument), Justin concluded that the kiss was nothing more than a guy instinct to try to make a girl in tears feel better. It was a concrete conclusion. Believable at best.

_Believable to who, exactly_?

Justin had told Max everything that had transpired the previous night, except for a small, tiny detail; that he took her away to his favorite spot at the college campus. He knew that Max would come to a different conclusion if he had known about it. And how would Justin know that? Because he, himself, drew that same conclusion when he thought about it beforehand. It was too much of a cheesy-girl-flick move. A girl cries, you want to make her feel better so you take her to a place that holds a personal meaning to yourself and no one else. The only thing that was missing was the sentimental kiss afterwards.

_Which happened anyway, just not the_ right kind _of kiss._

He wiped a table vigorously in frustration.

"It was just a friendly kiss, nothing more. Friendly kiss, nothing more," he kept murmuring to himself.

Unbeknownst to the rest of the household, loud chattering could be heard distinctly from within a miniaturized model of Captain Jim Bob Sherwood's hometown, built carefully by hand and was now residing on a table inside of Justin's room. Upon a closer look, it was evident that the voices came from none other than the two girls that Justin had been hunting for all day.

"I'm a genius, aren't I?" Alex said. "He'll never find us here." She bent down to pick up a spray can from the ground next to her. Along with herself and Harper, she had also shrunken her spray paint set with her. She was keeping herself busy by creating a mural on a wall of one of the plastic buildings. She stopped when Harper's ring tone of a dog barking blasted at full volume for the third time in a row. "Tell me again why you're hiding from him?

"Because," Harper answered while pacing. "I'm not ready to see him yet."

"And why is that?"

"Because. I- - I embarrassed myself."

"Oh whatever!" Alex exclaimed. "Harper. It was just a kiss. On the cheek. That's nothing to go crazy about. I mean, compared to what you and Zeke have doin- - "

"Shh! Just- - shh!" Harper shushed. "No voicing out the naughty acts!" Harper sighed. "I know I'm being weird, okay? But, oh come on, Alex. Of all people, you should understand why I'm being all- - why I'm being all _me._"

Alex sighed heavily. She withdrew from her spraying and turned to face her. "Harper," she said slowly. "As far as I see, the plan worked, right? He thinks you're totally hot now. And last night was a confirmation of that. Now is the time to move on to the next part of the plan. To totally reject him."

Harper bit her lips and fidgeted with her hands. She looked warily at Alex.

Alex frowned at her. "Wait." Alex drew closer. "Wait a minute, Harper. Don't tell me- - don't tell me you…"

Alex didn't finish herself. Her frown merely deepened and she stomped a foot down.

"No, Harper. No! Not again." Now it was her turn to pace back and forth. "You've got to be kidding me! Harper, learn your lesson. Remember what happened the last time? Remember the reason why we started this in the first place?"

"I know, Alex," Harper said dejectedly. "But yesterday, it just- - I don't know. Yesterday felt so different. It felt so comfortable to be that close to him. And then- - and then when he kissed me," she drew a hand up to her cheek. "I don't know, Alex."

Alex stared at her. She wanted what was best for Harper. She wanted what was right for her best friend. "Just remember, Harper. If he does like you now, it's only because we wanted him to like you." She drew a breath before continuing. "What he likes might not be _you_. What he likes is what we created to be _you_." She hated doing this. "Just remember that before you get too ahead of yourself."

Harper's chest heaved. What Alex said wasn't completely false, but it still hit her in the right spots. Her mind quickly wandered back to Zeke. He had liked her even before her transformation. He had come to her when she was still the old Harper. If Justin really did like her now, did he like the real Harper or the Harper that she created just for him?

When Harper looked up again, she finally realized what Alex had been painting. She quickly ran to her and snatched the spray can out of her hand. Alex chuckled at her.

"Nice, huh?" she said. "How long do you think it'll take for him to notice it?"

"Alex," Harper said sternly. "It's his face with a monkey's body. He'll notice it fairly soon."

Alex and Harper stayed inside the miniaturized village until the end of the day when Justin finally retired in his room. They hid behind bushes at first, hissing at each other; Harper wanted to leave but Alex wanted to stay and play a prank. But of course, she changed her mind when she saw that her brother had started undressing. She flashed herself out of there so fast that she forgot to take Harper with her. Harper muttered curse words under her breath, of which many were so colorful that one would believe it very uncharacteristic of her. When Justin started working on the button of his pants, Harper ran behind a plastic bush and covered her eyes. Once she heard a door shut, she lowered her hands with a sigh.

"Alex, you are so dead!" she hissed at the air.

She stepped out of the bush and looked around. Justin was no longer in the room.

"Must be taking a shower," she said to herself. She looked back at the wall that Alex painted on. Frowning, she decided to try to cover it before it drew attention from Justin. She trudged back to the bush that she hid behind of, grabbed hold of it, and pulled until she was able to pluck it out of the ground. She carried it back and placed it against the wall. She kept doing this with the other bushes nearby until at least part of the wall was covered.

When she heard the doorknob jiggle, she panicked and started running around, looking for a bush to hide behind. Realizing that most of the bushes were piled against the wall, she ran as fast as she could towards a pair of miniature characters (of who, she had no idea). She tried to hide behind them, but they couldn't cover her body entirely. When the door slowly opened, she opted to standing still and posing like the characters that she stood next to.

Justin walked in with a towel around his waist and droplets of water glistening across his bare chest. Harper squealed silently. He opened his dresser drawer, rummaged through it, and took out what looked like a pair of boxers patterned with the fish from _Finding Nemo_. His hand moved down to his towel.

"Ohmigod, ohmigod, ohmigod," Harper muttered. She squeezed her eyes shut. When she opened them again, Justin had already replaced his towel for the boxer shorts. He plopped himself down on his bed with his cellphone in his hand. Harper watched as he busied himself with it, and then held it up to his ear.

Suddenly, the barking of a dog invaded the air.

Harper bit her lip and winced. To her, the ringtone was loud and nerve-wrecking. But to Justin, it was very faint and barely deferrable. He merely thought the barking was coming from outside of the building.

When the barking stopped, only then did Justin lowered his phone. He shut it close in frustration and tossed it next to him. He bent down and buried his face in his hands, a gesture that has become frequent to him since coming home only a few weeks ago.

"Argh!" he let out. He suddenly stood and walked to his window. He stared out into the night sky. "What the hell is wrong with me?"

Harper frowned as she watched him, confused. She watched him pace back and forth in his room, sitting down on his bed, and then getting up to pace again. She stiffened when he detoured his steps and started towards her position. He stopped right above her and stared down at the miniature village. For a slight moment, Harper thought that Justin was looking right at her. She held her breath in an attempt to stay still. When he finally walked away, she released her breath as a sigh in relief.

She saw him pick up a picture from his bedside table. He stared at it, then frowned.

"I am such a moron," she heard him say.

He settled the picture frame back onto his bedside table, and lay down on the bed. Harper waited a few minutes until the rise and fall of his chest became rhythmic and calm. She moved towards the edge of the village and stared out onto the picture that he was looking at. She was in it. It was of her and Alex grinning foolishly.

"Well, that settles it," she whispered, a hint of sadness in her voice. "He regrets kissing me." 

With a flash of light, she disappeared and reappeared in her room. Alex sat on her bed with a wand in her hand, and as soon she saw the look on Harper's face, she quickly ran to her best friend and hugged her.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own Wizards of Waverly Place. No profit is being made by releasing this fiction.

Author's Note: Okay, to be completely honest, I was not too crazy about the last chapter. It was a bit too dry, so I hurried with this one to try to redeem myself.

Also, I dedicate part of this chapter to the Zeke fans out there. He still doesn't get the girl, but at least we'll know what a cool guy he is.

Oh! And this is an extra long chapter to make up for the last one. Hope you all like it.

Let's read on!

**A Familiar Pattern 9**

**By genielou**

Justin strained his neck as he looked every which way through and around the crowd that bustled about in the convention center's exhibition hall. It was the next day, _the _Saturday of the Super Hero Convention; and also the very same one that Harper had assured if he would be attending. He was excited, ecstatic even, because he had assumed that since Harper was the one who asked if he were going to attend, that she was surely to go with him. He had woken up early to make sure that he dressed up to par with her new standards. After much deliberation, he had settled for a pair of black jeans with slight tears on the thighs, his best high-top converse chucks, and a light blue button-up shirt that he knew to have caught Harper's eye every so often when they were younger.

He had spent the night getting up from bed and pacing around his room, thinking of what had transpired the day prior. The kiss was still fresh in his head, and he wasn't sure why. He had muttered over and over again that it was a nothing kiss. But after two hours of him pacing, attacking his window handle in frustration, and continuously looking at the only picture in his room with Harper in it, he finally admitted to himself that he was merely kidding himself.

The kiss was not a _nothing _kiss.

He had felt something. And for some reason, he thought himself stupid for not realizing it sooner. It had felt so familiar, so comfortable. Was he so hung up on simply _rejecting_ Harper for so many years that he ignored what had actually developed within himself?

Over an hour's worth more of thinking, he also couldn't deny that he was in a complicated position. He felt something for her, but she was already taken, by none other than his former best friend.

So what did Justin decide to do? Justin decided to take Max's advice and merely _hang out _with the girl of his interest. He may not be able to act upon his newly developed feelings, but at least he could relieve himself by merely being near her. That would be enough, wouldn't it? And he had decided to instigate this plan on this very day, on a day when he and Harper actually shared something in common: a love for comic book heroes.

In the past, he and Harper had always been the ones to be excited about the convention; albeit not together, but it was still a shared interest. They would always run into each other during the event. She would usually gawk at him in his costume and giggle uncontrollably, while he spent the moment annoyed and irritated, and trying to get away from her.

_Maybe I should've cosplayed, _he thought that morning. _She always liked it when I dressed up._

But he quickly shook his head from this suggestion. _Grow up, Justin! She wouldn't dress up at this age either and neither should you._

And so here he was, looking through the exhibition hall for the girl that he has been so desperate to talk to for the past 48 hours. Unfortunately, much to his disappointed, she had not been home when he left this morning. She was still not answering her phone, and she was still nowhere to be found. Justin moped for a good 30 minutes before Max had offered to escort him to convention. As soon as they arrived, he set Max off to do whatever he wanted, and he set off to try to find Harper. So far, an hour has passed and Harper was still nowhere in sight.

Justin walked farther into a corner of the vast hall where the food court was held. He spotted Max at a table with three paper bags full of popcorn in front of him.

"Max!" he called out as he headed over. He settled himself down and grabbed a bag for himself. "Where'd you get these?"

Max pointed at a nearby booth with a long line. "They're promoting a new show."

The line shifted enough that Justin was able to read the sign on the booth. _Captain Kernel._

"It's about a boy who loves to eat corn. One day he ate one that tasted kinda funny. Here's the punch," Max leaned on the table. "The corn he ate that day had been exposed to radioactive fertilizer."

Justin nodded with a frown. "Right," he said. He started munching on the popcorn.

"So," Max said as he started eating from his own bag. "Any luck finding her?"

Justin glared at him. "What do you think?" he said sarcastically as he tossed a popcorn into his mouth. "She's probably avoiding me, which means that she totally hates me for giving her that peck on the cheek."

"You think so?" Max asked while chewing. Each chew crunched loudly. "I wouldn't worry about it too much. Just think of the positive side. Instead of thinking that she's avoiding you, just think that she probably hated the kiss."

Justin frowned at him. "How is that the _positive_ side?"

Max popped another one into his mouth before answering. "Because, if it was a bad kiss, then that means she thinks you're a loser, and this therefore becomes a more logical reason to avoid you."

Justin glared harder at his younger brother. "I hate you."

Meanwhile, on the other corner of the exhibition hall, a Batgirl tried to pull her very short skirt down in an attempt to cover her thighs. She glared at the brunette who stood next to her, wearing a tee-shirt designed to look like _Robin The Boy Wonder's_ tunic.

"You know, it's really not fair that I actually wore the costume while you wore that shirt and simply _claimed_ to be the character," Harper hissed at her best friend.

"Oh come on, Harper, you look great," Alex grinned at her. "Besides, I've already apologized a gazillion times, okay? I lost track of time and forgot to reserve the costume. And this was the only cool shirt I could find at Walmart. At least we match."

An older man in a _Fantastic 4 _leotard costume tapped Harper on the shoulder. He gestured to his camera when she turned. She nodded her head and smiled at him. Alex, on the other hand, just shook her head and chuckled. She stepped aside as Harper got into position for the camera.

"Wow," Alex heard behind her. She turned to see the Incredible Hulk standing by with two ice cream cones in his hands. "That's the tenth time today. Batgirl must be really _in _this year."

Alex chuckled effeminately. "Yeah, Zeke," she grinned at him. "That's exactly what it is."

She turned to where Harper was now being bombarded by two more men in costume, asking for her picture. Alex had expected as much. After all, she was the one who rented the Batgirl costume. She had made sure that the costume was not the regular costume that was portrayed on the comic books, but rather the skimpier version that college girls like to wear at Halloween parties. This costume included a tiny shirt that exposed Harper's mid-drift, and a short skirt that would undoubtedly be banned from a church. Add to that the high-heeled boots, leather gloves, the mask and cape, and long extensions; and you've got the hottest Batgirl a 30-year-old nerd would give up his life's collection for.

Harper shook hands with her admirers and walked away with a grimace.

"I do appreciate the attention, but this is getting to be a bit of a hassle," she said with a frown.

Zeke handed her an ice cream cone. "I know, sweetie," he cooed to her as he slung an arm around her shoulders. "But you have to admit, it is pretty cool that all these people want a picture of you."

Harper blushed. The word _sweetie _sounded so refreshing coming from Zeke, considering all the time she'd been spending lately with frustrating over Justin.

_Justin_.

She had gone a full twenty minutes without thinking of him until now. She'll have to restart the timer over again.

Harper had done nothing out of the ordinary. This day is flowing according to her and Alex's original plan, which was to go to the convention without Justin, in hopes that he will go searching for her, thus confirming his attraction to her. And then, when he sees her with Zeke, he will then feel the rejection that Alex claims he deserved.

The only problem is that Harper doesn't want to see Justin at all. She doesn't want to deal with him. He had made it pretty clear that he regretted kissing her. When Alex didn't believe her, she flashed both of them back into the miniature village to legitimize Harper's claims. There, Harper saw him again looking at the picture with her in it numerously, and each time he did, he had a disgusted expression. It hurt too much to see him have that kind of a reaction at the thought of her. It just hurt too much.

She had almost not gone to this trip, but Alex was just too good at getting her to do what she wanted. So, after much argument over going to the convention, and over the costume when Harper finally saw what she was supposed to wear, here she was now at the convention center wearing an outfit that her Nana Franny would have a heart attack over.

Harper walked silently ahead, letting Zeke lead her through the different booths that offered various merchandise. Alex walked right beside her with her own camera in hand, giggling every so often whenever she took a picture of something, or someone, that she thought was funny. They stopped at a booth, and shortly after Zeke released her to examine something on a table, a finger tapped her on the shoulder.

"Excuse me," a wheezy voice said. She turned to see a very skinny and lanky _Green Arrow _ogling at her. "Can I take a picture of you?"

She saw Alex suppress a giggle from the corner of her eye.

"Sure," she smiled. She positioned herself to hold her usual pose, and stopped when she realized she still had her ice cream in her hand. She held it out to Alex. "Alex, would you mind?"

"Oh no, don't," Green Arrow said. He gave her an eerie smile. "Keep it. I like the ice cream on you."

Harper slowly withdrew her hand, all the while suppressing a frown. She got into position and posed as she usually did.

"That's good. That's good," he said as he snapped a picture of her. "Would you mind if I take another one? With you holding the ice cream up? Like you're offering it to me?"

Harper blinked. "Um, sure, why not?" She did as she was told.

"That's great!" he exclaimed as he took another picture. "Okay, one last one? Please? This time, with you eating the ice cream?"

Again, Harper blinked but merely smiled awkwardly and did as she was told. Alex had to press a hand over her mouth to keep herself from laughing.

"Oh, oh, that's so amazing!" he exclaimed. "Okay, this last one, I promise. Stick your tongue out and lick the ice cream very. Very. Slowly."

"All right, that's enough," Zeke intervened. He placed an arm around her possessively and held a hand up at him. "One picture per. Please move on."

Green Arrow glared at him before walking away. Harper heaved a huge sigh of relief as Alex finally busted out laughing.

"Thanks, Zeke," Harper said. "I just didn't know how to get rid of him."

Zeke kissed her brow. "It's okay, beautiful," he smiled down at her. "You're just naturally nice, is all."

Harper blushed again. With all the time she had spent concentrating on Justin, she had almost forgotten how much she liked Zeke. This was the first time in a long while that she had been this close to him, and she was finding herself fairly comfortable to be with him.

She snapped from her reverie and turned to glare at a still laughing Alex. "Thanks for stepping in, Alex."

Alex breathed heavily as she tried to calm herself. "Too funny. Just too funny," she said in between breaths.

They made their way towards the food court. Once there, they scanned the area for an open table. As soon as a group left theirs, Alex ran to it and claimed it.

"Let me take that from you," Zeke said as he took the ice cream cone from Harper. He detoured momentarily to throw it away.

Alex grinned at her as she set herself down. "Zeke must have missed you a lot. He's being a total gentleman today."

"I know," Harper replied as she pulled her ballroom mask off of her face. She fidgeted slightly as she tried to keep her skirt from riding up too much. "I almost can't believe how much of a sweetheart he's being."

Zeke returned to the table and sat down. He eyed Harper curiously. "Is something wrong?"

Harper crossed her legs, then changed her mind and uncrossed it. She placed both hands on her lap and squeezed her legs closed. "Not really," she said. "It's the skirt. I feel kind of uncomfortable."

"Oh," Zeke said. He stood up. "I'll be right back."

Both girls stared after him as he disappeared. They looked at each other and shrugged.

"Excuse me," a pudgy Superman tapped Alex on the shoulder. "Can I take a picture of you?"

"Buzz off," Alex told him. Superman walked away with his shoulders slumped.

Harper stared after him warily. "Aww, poor man," she said. She turned to Alex. "Meanie."

Alex shrugged her shoulders. "I do what I can."

When Zeke came back, he quickly laid out a tee-shirt over Harper's lap, the price tag still intact. "Here you go, sweetie," he said. "You can relax now."

Even Alex had to smile.

Then a giant tooth walked by. Alex's eyes followed it as it wobbled away.

"Be right back," she said as she suddenly stood and sprinted towards it. From her seat, Harper could clearly see Alex bully the giant tooth as she pushed it from behind, ducked, and moved quickly to stay at the back of it so she could push it again.

"So," Zeke started. He took Harper's hands in his. "I've missed you, sweetie. I feel like I haven't seen in forever."

Harper smiled at him. "I know. I'm really sorry. I've just been so busy lately."

"With school?"

"Yeah, with school." _Liar._

"I understand. I knew this would happen once you started that school. But, it's still irritating to not be able to see you as much as I used to," Zeke complained. He drew circles on her hands with his thumbs. "Well, we're here together today and I'm going to savor every minute of it."

Harper smiled as Zeke lifted her hands and brushed his lips against her knuckles. She decided to imitate the gesture by leaning forward and kissing one of his fingers.

"Did you see that? Huh?" Alex huffed as she sat herself back down. She pointed at the giant tooth, which was now lying flat on the floor with its legs kicking up furiously. "Not bad, eh?"

Both Harper and Zeke shook their heads.

A loud static sounded over them, and they all looked up. "REMINDER: THE MARVEL COMICS PANEL WILL START IN APPROXIMATELY 20 MINUTES. ALL OF THOSE WHO PLAN ON ATTENDING PLEASE LINE UP AT HALL G."

"Oops, that's me," Zeke said. He turned to Harper. "Are you sure you don't want to come with me?"

"Oh, I'm sure," she told him. "I'm not a Marvel fan."

"Okay, dear." He placed a hand on her cheek and leaned in. Alex turned and averted her eyes.

Harper closed her eyes as soon as she felt his lips on hers. She sighed as he stroked a thumb on her cheek and pressed his lips firmly onto hers.

He pulled away slowly, and kept his face within inches from hers as she opened her eyes.

"I'll call you as soon as I get out." He leaned in again for another quick kiss, grinned slyly at her, and then went on his way. Harper smiled foolishly after him.

Alex sighed loudly. Harper turned her head and saw her with her hands on her chin, and her elbows propped on the table. She ogled at Harper.

"Sweetie," she said. Harper smirked at her. "So, feeling better?"

Harper sighed at her. "Not really."

Alex stared at her. She wished she could offer apathy to her best friend, but unfortunately, she had never been in a situation where the guy didn't return at least some of the feelings she laid forth. Sympathy was the only thing she could exchange, of which she had never been a fan of.

"Well," she started. "At least you know earlier than later, right? I mean, if it was later, it would've been worse."

"I guess," she replied with a dejected expression. "I just- - I just thought, you know…"

"I know, Harper," she cooed. "I know." In fact, she had thought the same thing too. Although she wasn't a fan of her brother becoming too indulged with her best friend; but if it was going to make Harper happy, then she was sure she would be open to it eventually. "Harper," she started again. "What do you like about Justin anyway?"

Harper placed a finger on her chin in thought. "Well," she said. "He's very kind and patient. Tolerant. He's very honest, too honest sometimes," she remembered what happened two nights ago. "He's smart, passionate about his work, ambitious…"

"Okay, okay, I shouldn't have asked," Alex waved a hand at her. "Now, from all this time that you've been 'teasing' him," Harper winced at her, "what do you think he likes about you?"

Harper had to think hard about that one. "He…" she started, then paused. She took a few moments to think again. When she thought of something, she had to wince slightly as she voiced it out. "He said I look better now compared to how I looked back then."

Alex pursed her lips. That was just too much of an ass thing to say, even for her brother. "When we get home, I'm taking all his white socks and dying them pink," she said firmly.

Harper giggled at her. She knew Alex would take the comment in the same manner, and that comforted her.

"Well, you're here with Zeke today, and the guy is in 'sweetness' overdrive. Just concentrate on him, okay?"

She smiled and nodded at her.

"All right," Alex declared with a slam of her fist on the table. "Let's do what we're here to do. Ugliest costume. Winner buys Slurpies."

"Oh yeah!" Harper exclaimed. She held up her digital camera. "You are so gonna lose."

"Uh-uh, you'll be eating those words once I'm done," Alex retorted, holding up her own camera.

Just as Alex was about to stand up, a flash went off in her direction.

"Hey!" she yelled, but Harper was already up and running as fast as her high heels could go.

"I've got one ugly costume! One up on you!" Harper yelled back at her as she hurried off. Alex was not too far behind her.

Heads couldn't help but turn to the yelling couple, including a particular one that had been frustrating over the thought of one of them for the past day.

"That's Alex!" Justin exclaimed. "And Harper!"

Before Max could turn his head to the subject in question, Justin was already sprinting ahead. Max quickly gathered up his popcorn bags and ran after him.

"Are you sure it was them?" Max asked as he squeezed through the crowd right behind Justin.

"It was them, all right," he answered. "I'd recognize Alex's pretentious taste in costumes anytime. She always thinks it's funny to be different."

In his mind, he couldn't help but think back to Harper's outfit. _Costume. Not outfit. Costume, _he scolded himself. _Of course she would wear a costume. I still had my costume from last year. I should've worn that! _He knocked himself mentally on the head. If he had worn a costume, he probably would've connected better with Harper. But no, he preferred to be _grown up _and merely _dress up_.

When he exited the exhibition hall and entered the main hall of the convention center, he scanned the area and spotted a black, skimpy outfit not too far away. He quickly ran towards it.

He grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her around. "Harper!" he yelled, but the face that looked at him wasn't Harper. It was instead a somewhat masculine face that had been made-up to look feminine.

"Hello there, handsome," the deep voice of a broad-shouldered Batgirl said to him.

Justin cringed. "Uh, sorry," his voice squeaked. "Wrong person."

Justin ran away with Max right behind him, laughing out loud.

On the second floor of the building, the _right _Batgirl and Robin was skipping around, giggling and taking pictures of random cosplayers.

"Ooh! Ooh! I see a jiggly Aquaman!" Alex yelled and skipped away. Harper stood aside and leaned against the wall to momentarily rest her feet.

"Great. I look hot but my feet are killing me," she muttered. She saw Alex pointing at another cosplayer, grinning. Harper gave her the thumbs up and smiled. "Okay, Harper, time to get moving."

She pushed herself away from the wall and was about to start making her way towards Alex, when a hoard of people suddenly crowded the hallway and pushed her towards the side again.

"Um, excuse me. Excu- - excuse me," she kept muttering as she tried to squeeze her way through, but there were just too many people moving about.

On the first floor right below where Harper struggled, a pair of men in custodian uniforms placed a yellow tape on waist-high poles, secluding one of the metal pillars that started from the concrete floor and continued up until it protruded through the second floor and then still up onto the ceiling of the building where it supported the roof.

"Stand aside please, stand aside," one of them said to the crowd that passed by. "This is really dangerous. Shouldn't we close down the hallway? I mean, if the current is running through this pole, couldn't it travel through the floor too? I think I saw it on TV once."

"Don't be an idiot, Ed. Electricity can't run on carpet," the other one replied. He secured the yellow tape on his end.

"So let me get this straight. A lose wire in the basement, that is really close to this pole here," Ed pointed at the pillar, "is fritzing out, and it's throwing deadly electric stuff on the metal?" he asked.

"Right," his companion confirmed. "And since it's metal, it's running through the entire pole. An electrician should be here in an hour. But until then, we have to keep anyone from touching it. Could be dangerous, you know?"

"Yeah, sounds like a potential lawsuit," Ed answered. They finished their work and walked off to start on the second floor.

Upstairs, Harper still struggled with the crowd. "Um, excuse me please," she muttered.

Alex was still busy twirling around with a camera, giggling. And only a mere ten yards away was Justin with Max right behind him.

"There," Max pointed at Alex. They tried to push through the crowd but it was still too thick. They slowly made their way towards their target.

"Oh! I'm so sorry," Harper pleaded as she accidentally stepped on an older woman's foot. The woman turned to glare at her. "I'm so, so sorry. I didn't mean to do that."

She backed away, and in doing so, got sidled towards the walls again; but this time, she was headed towards the very thing that the two custodians had quarantined from people.

Harper turned and reached out to what she thought would be a safe surface. As her gloved hand touched the metal pillar, high amounts of electrical current suddenly jolted into her and surged through her entire body. She gasped as her body arched forward in shock. All of her limbs stretched out and caused her fingers to press even further onto the metal. She couldn't even scream. All that came out of her was a high squeak.

The crowd turned in her direction; voices screamed from all direction. When Alex, Justin, and Max turned their head, Harper's body was still arching abnormally.

"HARPER!" Alex shrieked.

The electricity stopped her heart, and her arms fell limp. Her body made a loud thud as her legs gave out and she fell backwards onto the floor.

Alex pushed her way aggressively through the crowd. "Out of the way!" she cried out. When she reached Harper, she fell on her knees and shook her by the shoulders. "Harper? Harper!" she screamed desperately.

Justin pushed his way through the crowd too. Max did his best to keep pace. When Justin reached them, he also got on his knees next to Alex.

Alex turned to him, the shock of the situation overtaking the surprise of seeing Justin there. "Justin, do something!" she pleaded to him, tears already rolling down her cheeks. "Do something!"

Justin gently pushed Alex away and positioned himself closer to Harper's unmoving body. He placed two fingers on her neck. His eyes widened when he didn't detect a pulse.

"Oh, God," he whispered. He placed both hands on his head as he started to panic.

"Please, please," Alex muttered as she cried harder. Max finally reached them and encircled his sister in his arms. He winced slightly as she grabbed hold of his arms and inadvertently dug her fingers in.

"No, no. Please!" Justin heard Alex cry out. He turned slightly and saw Max restraining a delirious Alex as she struggled in his arms. "Justin, do something!" she screamed at him.

Justin looked down again at Harper. She was very still, and her face looked peaceful. Too peaceful.

He took a huge breath and leaned forward. Pressing both hands firmly right between her breasts, he began to push down repeatedly while counting out loud.

"One, two, three, four, five," he huffed, then moved upwards, pinched Harper's nose, and used his other hand to open her mouth. He pressed his mouth onto hers and blew two big, consecutive puffs. He moved downwards and pressed his hands on her chest again. He pushed. "One, two, three, four, five…"

The crowd was loud with anticipation, but to Alex and Max, everything was dead silent. The only sound that seemed to penetrate through Max's ears was his sister's sobbing. They watched Justin fiercely.

"One, two, three…"

Justin repeated this process four more times. As he readied his hands on the fifth time, his eyes started to moisten.

"Harper. Harper…" he whispered instead of counting. "Come on, Harper. Don't leave me like this."

He breathed into her. His nose started running as the panic in him began to surface. "Oh, God, don't do this," he pleaded as he pushed on her chest. He breathed into her. "Harper, come on!" he pleaded again as he pushed as hard as he could on her chest repeatedly.

He pinched her nose, opened her mouth, and leaned down. He breathed into her.

Once.

Twice.

On the third time, he felt her mouth twitch against his. He lifted his mouth a bit and felt a sigh of air blow onto his lips. When he opened his eyes, he saw her eye lashes move ever so slightly. He heard a low groan escape her mouth.

Whatever came over Justin, no one could really explain, because the next thing he knew, he had leaned down again and pressed his mouth over Harper's. But instead of breathing air into her, he merely moved his lips, closing hers into his. Justin felt her lips move. He opened his mouth, and took her lips in full again.

He finally pulled away after a few seconds. He lifted his head up, opened his eyes, and saw Harper's own flutter open. She gazed upwards, unable to focus through the haze in her eyes. When she was finally able to concentrate, she revealed her confusion while he looked down warily at her.

"Justin?" she whispered.

Justin smiled as relief overtook him.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own Wizards of Waverly Place. No Profit is being made by writing this fiction.

Author's Note: Happy Turkey Day! Sorry it took a long while to get this up. How long was I gone for? A month? Two months? yeesh... School has been crazy lately, and I'm sure a lot of you are busy with it too.

Well, anyhoo, here's the next, long-overdue installment to our Jarper fiction. Things are finally starting to pick up and I hope you all like it. Just as a warning, though; there will be a few disappointing moments and many of you _will _get angry by the end of this chapter. But just remember that the story doesn't end here.

Also, there is a song in this chapter and it is very advisable that you listen to it before you read this chapter. If you just type "Nothing by Charice" on youtube or something, you'll be able to listen to the song. It's a good song, I promise. =D

Let's read on!

**A Familiar Pattern 10**

**By genielou**

Harper's consciousness briefly faltered as she felt her chest fill with unfamiliar air.

Once.

Twice.

On the third, her lungs suddenly awoke and started operating in independence. Her breath caught; her brain tried to catch up, but the unexpected jolt in her body kept the rest of her senses from working in unity. Harper frowned inwardly and tried to open her eyes, but all she could do was move her lashes ever so slightly. She groaned softly as she struggled further.

Before she could go further with her struggle, she felt something soft and moist press against her lips.

Harper ignored all inhibition as the haze in her mind continued relentlessly, and allowed her instincts to react. Her lips moved shyly against its benefactor, responding in accordance to every push and glide. When the other lifted away, she felt a sudden coldness and yearned for the warmth that her assailant provided for her.

Her countenance returned and granted her wish by taking her lips in full, firstly tugging at her lower lip then once again at her upper. Her mouth barely moved but she still indulged in the softness of the caress against them.

She let out a soft moan and allowed her eyes to open the tiniest bit. She willed them to focus, to see what wonderful creature was making her feel so wanted. There was a tall figure, a fairly massive figure.

Harper pursed her lips forward just in time with the dance she seemed to be taking part of. Her vision cleared more, and she saw a most manly gentleman with dark blonde hair staring at her with beautiful blue eyes.

She smiled at the realization of the identity of this being. Zeke. Her wonderful, caring, sweet boyfriend Zeke was staring at her with those loving eyes of his.

Wait, staring?

Another realization struck her hard. Her boyfriend, the only one who had universal permission to touch her in any way possible, is not the one kissing her so possessively at that very moment.

She stopped participating and stiffened on the spot. Her eyes moved to the head that slowly lifted itself from her. That black mass of hair; those thick, bushy eyebrows; thick lashes; droopy, but expressive eyes; and the unmistakable, knowing grin that she had memorized in her mind after almost fifteen years of friendship…

Harper gasped aloud and bolted upright. Her hand gripped a thick comforter that now crumpled on her lap and her other went up to her sweat-stricken brow.

"Justin," she whispered, but was greeted by silence. Only the sound of the soft whirring of a humidifier penetrated the air around her. Her eyes automatically took on her surroundings, and after a short while of foggy contemplation, concluded that she was indeed in her room. And by the gray-blue emanating from the tiny window above the washing machine, she reckoned that it was mid- to late afternoon. She sighed in relief.

Relief? Was that what she really felt? The dream was too elaborated, and too accusing for her to feel too calm too quickly.

_Oh my god. _She thought to herself. _Zeke. Oh god, Zeke. _

The sound of her door opening interrupted her thoughts. Loud noises came from the other side of it. It seemed louder than the usual business rush that the Waverly Substation had.

"Yeah, Mom! I'll take the trash out later!" The sound of a door shutting, then a snort and a snide, "Yeah, like that's really gonna happen."

Harper waited for the familiar voice to emerge from the descending stairwell, allowing Alex to realize her awakened condition on her own. Alex quickened her pace when she saw Harper sitting upright, and ran into her arms.

"Harper! Geez, I was so scared," she remarked as she squeezed her with all her might. "I don't know what I would've done if anything more had happened to you."

"Don't worry. I don't plan on doing that again," Harper answered, frowned, then pushed and held Alex at arm's length. "Speaking of which, what happened?"

Alex explained everything to Harper, with details included. Harper listened carefully despite the growing ache in her head.

"And don't you worry, I am so going to sue their asses once you're all better."

"Oh Alex, that's not necessary. They offered us lifetime admission, didn't they?" Harper remarked.

"But still!" Alex said. "Harper, it could've been worse!"

"Right, it could've been worse. But look at me, I'm alive and well," a dizzy spell hit her and she had to press a hand to her head to relieve it. "Okay, not completely well, but well enough. I'm just happy I'm still breathing."

Alex huffed and pouted her lips. "Still- "

The loud cheering and hollering from the upper level cut her off. They both look up at the ceiling in unison.

"Uh, what's going on?" Harper asked.

"Karaoke," Alex made a face. "Dad thought it would be good for business because of the convention. He's right but," she looked upwards again. "My ears are starting to bleed from all the bad singing going on. People suck in general."

Harper giggled, then suddenly made a strange, throaty sound as she sneezed. Loudly.

"Geez, Harper. Be a girl, will ya?" Alex joked.

Harper shook her head as she reached for a tissue on the nightstand next to her. It was only then that she noticed a vase full of a dozen red roses. She turned a questioning eye at her friend.

Alex eyed the roses and winced at her. "Oh, yeah, that," she said hesitantly. "I was hoping you wouldn't see those."

Harper cocked her head to the side. "I'm assuming they're not from you," she said. "Because you know—"

"—that you hate red roses because they're overly cheesy and overly done," Alex finished for her. "Yeah, believe me, I know. That's why I was really hoping that you wouldn't see those."

Harper frowned. "They're not from Zeke," she said matter-of-factly.

"No."

"Max would have written me a weird song or blended some kind of fruit drink if he wanted to cheer me up."

"Yeah…"

"And your parents would've made me my favorite: clam chowder soup or mac-and-cheese."

"The soup is upstairs just waiting to be reheated."

"Then that means…" Harper's shoulders dropped. She didn't want to finish her thought further.

Alex moved closer towards Harper and tried to meet her eyes. "He means well, Harper. I think he really likes you now."

Harper furrowed her brows. "Yeah. He means well." She turned and looked at the vase of roses, her eyes switching from each rose. They were so beautiful, so romantic, and so _not_ her. Sure, any girl would love to have a boy give her a dozen roses, but not her. Harper had specific tastes, and this was most evident in the type of wardrobe that she wore. She was unique, complicated, but honest. How many times had she expressed aloud that she loved sunflowers? Especially yellow sunflowers? In fact, a lot of her summer dresses had sunflower patterns on them. So why, out of all people, would Justin give her otherwise.

A sad feeling overtook her as she realized how much effort she had put in over the past weeks. They seemed so… ridiculous now.

Her eyes lifted as she remembered her dream.

"You said that he gave me CPR."

Alex nodded. "If it wasn't for him, I don't know what would have happened."

She turned back to Alex. "Can you—can you describe it me again?"

Alex furrowed her brows in worry. "Justin ran to you, then he did his thing. It took a while." Her lips quivered as she continued. "You weren't responding. But he didn't give up. Then… then… I'm not really sure how it happened, but then he just kept doing the breathing part of it instead of pushing on your chest. He did it for a long while, and when he was done, you opened your eyes."

Realization struck Harper. "He was doing the breathing part for a long time?"

Alex nodded.

"Did it look like he was—um," Harper hesitated. "Like he was kissing me?"

Alex frowned, taken aback by the question, and then paused to think about the question. "Well," she started. "I guess. But that's how it should look like if someone is doing CPR, right?"

Harper nodded slowly. "Right," she repeated. "Exactly." Then her eyes widened. "Was Zeke there?"

Alex lifted a brow. "No," she said. "He didn't really know about it until you were taken away by the paramedics."

Harper sighed heavily with relief, and Alex stared at her in wonder. She knew her best friend was on the brink of a break down from all of the confusion she has been feeling towards her current boyfriend and her past (or maybe still current) crush. She looked at her sympathetically.

"Harper," she started. She waited for Harper to pay utmost attention to her before she continued. "Harper, I love you. Whatever you decide, I am going to support you to the fullest."

Harper smiled at her. "It makes me so sad, Alex," she said. "That's not how a person should feel about the man she loves."

"No, Harper," Alex whispered. "No."

They stayed silent for awhile, with Harper staring at her hands and Alex staring at Harper. Finally, Alex drew a deep breath and addressed her with more seriousness than she was used to.

"Remember how Dean and I broke up? Remember the reason for it?"

Harper looked at her and nodded slowly.

"You know more than anyone how hard it was for me to admit that it just wasn't working out. In the end, I really couldn't deny it anymore."

Harper nodded knowingly, already dreading what Alex was about to tell her.

Alex drew a deep breath again before continuing. "Zeke, no matter how much of a sappy geek he is," at this she made a face. "He's good to you. He's really, really good to you. I'm not telling you to choose him over Justin, but, maybe—just maybe, you shouldn't knock Zeke out of the competition just because your puppy love-interest came back." She shrugged her shoulders, "we're adults now, you know? Maybe a more logical choice is better than the surreal one."

The sound of loud, off-tune singing abruptly filled the air as the door opened; then the sound of grunting and panting, and finally the shutting of the door. Heavy footsteps descended the stairs. The two waited curiously until a masculine body with a vase full of flowers appeared. Zeke's head peaked sideways from it and greeted them with a smile.

"Hey, you!" he said cheerfully. "I was hoping you'd be up."

Harper couldn't help but be infected by his smile. She felt the sadness in her lift and disappear as she welcomed his warmth.

Seeing the change of mood in Harper, Alex simply smiled and got up from her position on the bed. "I gotta go take out the trash." Harper made a face at her, causing Alex to snort loudly and chuckle effeminitely. "You're right, I'm so lying. I'm gonna go grab a soda. I'll be back." She skipped away and disappeared into the loud crowd of the restaurant above, leaving Harper and Zeke to themselves.

Zeke set the vase of flowers next to the roses and sat himself down, automatically taking her hands in his. She smiled as she eyed the flowers tenderly, then him. "You remembered."

"Of course I remembered," Zeke grinned sheepishly. "Sunflowers, just the way my lady likes it. And I hope you noticed too…"

Harper turned to what Zeke was pointing at. The vase was filled with big, yellow sunflowers, but at the bottom were smaller pink and white daisies, which added to the aesthetics of the assortment.

"I know they're not officially your favorite, but they're on a lot of your headbands. So I figured you might like those kinds too."

She didn't remember it right away, but when she did, she stared at him in disbelief. "You noticed that?" she asked.

He lifted her hands up and brushed them against his lips. "Of course I did. They're usually on the thick bands. Remember the one that you wear with your "Oranges" outfit?" Her answer was a mere stare. "You were wearing a headband in the shape of orange daisies."

She thought back to the outfit that she wore on that day. It took seconds for her to realize exactly that.

"Listen, babe," Zeke started. "I can't really stay long. I just wanted to make sure that you were alright."

Zeke lifted a hand to smooth the few strands of hair that rose askew on Harper's head. She closed her eyes as she appreciated the feel of his touch when the tip of his fingers brushed against her forehead.

"Do you need anything?" he asked. "Anything at all? Soup? Watermelon slushie?"

Harper shook her head and smiled. "This is enough."

The smile he returned made her chest feel so much lighter than it had minutes before. For that brief moment, it seemed as though Zeke was the only man that held a piece of her heart.

With that thought, the other man entered her mind again and the disappointment she felt when she saw the vase of roses returned, dooming her expression to be evident. Despite this, Zeke was not discouraged from letting her feel his touch. With the change of her expression, he leaned closer and pressed his lips on her temple, lingering awhile to savor in the smell of the shampoo of her hair. She breathed a sigh of admiration as he withdrew.

"Zeke," she started. "Do you remember when we first met?"

He drew back in surprise, and she had expected as much. She had presented something that was almost impossible for him to remember, but she wanted to test him. She needed obvious evidence that what she was thinking of doing was the right choice.

Zeke shook his head slowly. "I—I don't think so."

Harper's shoulders dropped.

"But," Zeke began again. "I can tell you the very first time I saw you."

She sat upright curiously.

"It was during one of those crazy ten-minute sales. My nana always took me with her when I was younger," he smirked at her. "I was in charge of carrying stuff."

She couldn't stop frowning at him. "The crazy ten-minute sale," she whispered. "You were there?"

He snorted. "Oh heck yeah. I think it was a little over four years ago that I first saw you. I recognized Alex first because—well, I mean, who doesn't know Alex? She's only the most popular troublemaker in all of Tribeca Prep."

He displayed his wheezy chuckle that Alex found annoying but Harper found rather adorable.

Zeke sighed as he glorified in nostalgia. "Man, that was awhile ago. You know, you were wearing a flower headband then too. And, if I remember correctly, you were wearing a blue shirt with a big yellow sunflower on the front." He grinned to himself, "ah, sunflowers…"

Harper shook her head in disbelief. He was absolutely right. It was amazing that he remembered such a detail when she, herself, had to think about it before she could remember. The only reason she even remembered that fact is because Alex made fun of her shirt that day, and she remembered feeling embarrassed about it. "Zeke," she breathed out, "I can't believe you remember that."

Zeke grinned at her, as if otherwise was too ridiculous of a notion. "Of course I remember. And I especially remember thinking how cute you were."

She couldn't help but smile at him. The feeling of being wanted this much was almost overwhelming.

A low beeping sound emanated from his back pocket. He reached back and upon checking the reason for the beeping on his cellphone, looked back to her with urgency.

"I have to go, Sweety," he said. "I have to go pick up my mom from her work."

She nodded. "Of course. Yeah. Go."

Zeke grinned at her once more, kissed her good bye, and rushed out, leaving Harper to think by herself. Alex's contribution of her experience with Dean flashed in her mind and, at that point, she had decided what she had to do. She was sure to regret it later, but she knew she had to do it. It was for her own good…

The sound of loud noise erupted from the top of the staircase with a loud "No, Max! I told you, she's not in the mood!"

Seconds later, Max's long legs thundered down the stairs, hurrying in her direction. She smiled nervously at his presence.

"Harper, buddy, I brought you something," he said.

"_No_, Max. Learn the word!" his sister yelled at him.

He merely shook his head in disregard. "Will you relax? Harper," he turned to her. "It'll make you feel better. Trust me."

Harper eyed the glass of bright, orange goop that he held out to her. She reluctantly took it with both hands.

Max looked at her expectantly. "I promise, it's mostly fruits. I even added watermelon just for you."

Alex shook vigorously in protest, and Harper raised both eyebrows in interest. "Watermelon?" she asked.

Max nodded. "Go on, try it."

Harper lifted the glass slowly, very slowly. She sniffed first, then lifted further and further until her lips touched the glass. She took a sip, tasted it carefully, and swallowed. Her expression relaxed as her tongue took in the sweetness of the drink in recognition.

"Hmm, this is actually good," she said, taking a full swig of the glass this time. "What's in this?"

Max smiled in satisfaction. "Well, watermelon, oranges, apples—"

"This is so good," another swig.

"—potatoes, and snails."

Harper sprayed what was in her mouth onto her blanket. The next few minutes that ensued involved her gagging and Alex chasing Max around with her wand extended.

By that night, Harper had decided to take it upon herself and execute an action that will fulfill her choice to become free of all past-indulgences. She made herself up, being extra careful to look as pretty as she could. If this was the last night that she will be considering Justin as her foremost love, she wanted to at least have him remember her as something more beautiful than she had ever been to his eyes. Arrangements had been made to make sure that tonight would be the last night. Zeke was at his own apartment, waiting for her to arrive within an hour's time, and Alex had made sure that Justin was in attendance at the Waverly Substation. The karaoke portion of the restaurant had been an added bonus, as Harper had a particular song that she had long ago readied for herself just in case this particular time would come. And finally, it had.

She perfected her eyeliner, then smudged the shadow on her lids for a smokey effect. She stood up and looked herself over on her full-scale mirror. Her shoulder-length hair had been primped with big curley-cues that bounced with even the slightest movement. A red and black striped, long-sleeved shirt hugged her curves, more prominent on her chest where the cut ends considerably low, showing off the slight separation of her breasts. She buckled a golden belt around her waist to exaggerate her shape, and settled for a dark denim skirt that flowed freely to her knees. The gold high heels and the various plastic jewelry completed well with the lightness of her skin.

Harper took a deep breath, sighed, and pursed her lips in determination. "You can do this," she whispered to herself. Smoothing the hems of her skirt once more, she took a piece of paper and a large headband with a giant sunflower attached to it from her desk and proceeded up the stairs. When she opened the door, she was greeted by a huge array of yells and hollers, all cheerful and optimistic. Alex grabbed her as soon as she entered the main room of the restaurant.

"Hey," she said with a slight worry in her voice. "Are you sure about this?"

Harper nodded then handed her the piece of paper. "If you're really supportive, you won't fake yourself through this song."

Alex read what was written on the paper, and frowned at her best friend. "But Harper," she began. "This—this is a lie. Why would you pick this?"

Her reply was simple and calm. "I know. That's exactly why I picked it."

Alex looked at her anxiously, then nodded and left her side to wander around the restaurant.

Harper searched the room. There were many people there, mostly those she recognized from the convention. Some were even still wearing their costumes. A few recognized her now and then as she passed them by, waving and grinning at her, then just as quickly dismissing her. When she found the purpose of her set up, she quickly sat by his side and gave him a warm smile. He, in turn, took her hand in his and entwined their fingers, an action that she thought would never have been possible a few months ago.

"Hey," he said, a hint of giddiness in his tone. He had been waiting for her since hearing news of her well-being. "I was hoping you'd show yourself tonight. Did you see the roses?"

Harper repressed a wince at his expectant question. "Yeah, thanks."

His eyes seemed to savor her entirety. "Wow," he breathed aloud, though still unheard from the loud chattering around them. "You look beautiful."

She couldn't help but blush. "Thanks," she repeated. Then, remembering her purpose, revealed the headband that she had been holding and placed it firmly on her head. "What do you think? I bought it a few days ago."

Justin made a face at her, much to her disappointment. He lifted the headband from her head with both hands and placed them on the table between them. "You look better without it."

Sadness took over her once more. She averted her eyes away from his, busying her sight with her surroundings while he proceeded to stare at her admiringly. He looked so glad to see her; she was afraid that his excitement over her presence will make her withdraw her decision.

She forced Alex's words in her mind, and took her time to recompose her planned speech in her head. A few more seconds, then after a loud cheering, she turned to him. "Justin," she started. "Do you remember when we first met?"

Justin snorted. "No. That was a long time ago."

Harper's smile faltered momentarily then she regained herself. "How about the first time you saw me?"

"Come on, Harper. Be real," he replied. "Would you remember something that frivolous?"

"Yes," she said before she could control herself. "Yes, I would."

Justin stared at her, not sure what to say.

"I remember when I first met you," she continued. "It was when Alex brought me here for the first time to see her new baby brother." Her smile began to falter again. "You were there. You wore thick, black glasses then. And I remember thinking how dorky you were until you actually started talking to me about the impossibility that a bunch of baby turtles didn't die from being exposed to radioactive goo. You talked about how inaccurate it was for turtles to eat nothing but pizza, and so on and so forth. It was your Ninja Turtles phase."

He stared at her in utter disbelief. "You—you remember that?"

Harper smirked, truthfully this time. "You'd be surprised how much I remember when it comes to you."

Before Justin could reply, Alex took the microphone and began to introduce herself. "Hey y'all! How's everyone doing!"

A loud cheer greeted her.

"Okay, okay, settle down, you nerds. Anyway!" she yelled out as a few glares went her way. "I'm singing so cheer me on, okay? I promise I won't butcher it."

A fast tempo emerged from the speakers as the karaoke screen displayed an array of colors. The crowd clapped in time with the beat.

**"_Ooo yeah,_**

**_Oh oh oh oh…"_**

Justin recognized the song to be of Charice Pempengco's "Nothing." He knew it through his roommate's girlfriend's taste in music, and thought it suspicious that his sister would sing such a song. It talked of newly-found strength after a break-up, hence belonging to the romance category of genre. It didn't suit her personality at all.

**"_I thought I'd shiver,_**

**_I thought I'd weaken_**

**_When you asked me to meet up again."_**

"Justin." He turned as she called to him. "What do you like about me?"

**"_I was so sure that_**

**_In one second,_**

**_all my emotions would rush back in."_**

He stared at her, not sure what to say. A bad feeling started to take over him as his suspicions grew. "Why are you asking me that?"

**"_You cut so deep,_**

**_I couldn't see myself_**

**_Moving on without you."_**

"Please, Justin. Please, just answer the question," she pleaded. "I really need to hear it from you."

**"_I never thought I'd break free._**

**_I always thought you'd be part of me_**

**_And nothing could change that."_**

That bad feeling grew, disturbing Justin even more. The words that his sister sang with so much emotion added to the tension, haunting his ears. His expression changed to that of panic.

**"_I didn't dare to believe_**

**_That I'd recover you leaving me,_**

**_And you couldn't change that."_**

Justin decided to try to avert the question. "You know, I was wondering if maybe you and I could go see a movie or something before I go back to school. There's this really nice flick premiering tomorrow—"

"Justin," she said more firmly. "What do you like about me?"

**"_Over. _**

**_I thought I would cry._**

**_I spin over but I'm more than alright."_**

Justin's chest started to feel heavy. He had planned to confess his recently-found feelings to Harper, but something else was afoot. He wanted to answer her, but his brain just wasn't cooperating with him.

"**_I never thought_**

**_Seeing you again would make me feel_**

**_Nothing, nothing, nothing."_**

His breathing fastened.

**"_It feels so good to feel_**

**_Nothing, nothing, nothing."_**

"You're beautiful!" he blurted out. "You're so—uh, different from back then. You grew up."

**"_Did you imagine_**

**_I'd be on fire_**

**_To feel you touch me and say my name?"_**

"I grew up," she repeated, nodding to him. "Hearing that now, it sounds so funny."

**"_To hear you say it,_**

**_You wanna start over._**

**_I admit,_**

**_Thought I'd feel the same._**

**_I hate to break it to you now,_**

**_I've moved on without you."_**

The song was doing its job. Like Alex said, it was a lie; but she needed to lie right now. This is what was good for her. She needed to do it.

**"_I never thought I'd break free._**

**_I always thought you'd be a part of me,_**

**_And nothing could change that."_**

She took his hand in hers, entwining their fingers once more. She looked at him, and made sure that his full attention was to her. "Justin," she began. "I love you so much."

**"_I didn't dare to believe_**

**_That I'd recover you leaving me,_**

**_And you couldn't change that."_**

"But you don't love me, do you?"

**"_Over._**

**_I thought I would cry._**

**_I spin over but I'm more than alright."_**

Justin shook his head slowly. He knew deep inside that this was an honest answer.

**"_I never thought_**

**_Seeing you again would make me feel_**

**_Nothing, nothing, nothing."_**

He was infatuated by the new Harper, but did he love her?

**"_It's so good to feel_**

**_Nothing, nothing, nothing."_**

It was honest, but still, he regretted it.

**"_How can nothing feel so good?_**

**_How can nothing feel so right?_**

**_How can something be so completely gone?_**

**_That was my whole life."_**

She smiled sadly at him. "I bet you don't know anything about me."

Justin pleaded with his eyes, but knew it was useless. He was ashamed of himself for being associated with such a hurtful fact.

**"_I feel nothing at all."_**

"My favorite color?" she asked. He frowned, then casted his eyes down.

**"_I feel nothing at all."_**

"What I'm allergic to?" she asked again. He shook his head.

**"_I feel nothing at all."_**

"My—" she hesitated. "My birthday?"

**"_I feel nothing."_**

His expression was full of shame and regret. And she, in turn, could not help but stare at him with sadness and disappointment most evident. She couldn't hide her emotions anymore.

**"_I never thought I'd break free._**

**_I always thought you'd be a part of me,_**

**_And nothing can change that._**

**_I didn't dare to believe,_**

**_That I'd recover you leaving me,_**

**_And you couldn't change that."_**

She leaned towards him and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you," she whispered. "You made this a lot easier for me."

**"_Over._**

**_I thought I would cry._**

**_I spin over but I'm more than alright."_**

Harper gathered herself, stood up, then walked away towards the door. Alex, realizing this, followed her with her eyes, hoping that her best friend had finally found closure.

**"_I never thought_**

**_Seeing you again would make me feel_**

**_Nothing, nothing, nothing."_**

Justin watched helplessly from his seat, the overbearing feeling of shame keeping him from running after her.

**"_It feels so good to feel_**

**_Nothing, nothing, nothing."_**

As soon as the doors closed behind her, Harper took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. Her head felt clearer, as if a chip on her shoulder has finally been removed.

**"_Nothing, nothing, nothing."_**

She walked down the boulevard of Waverly Place, making sure not to look back. She kept going until she turned and disappeared at a corner.

**"_It feels so good to feel_**

**_Nothing, nothing, nothing."_**

The crowd cheered as Alex finished the song. She felt exalted from singing such a powerful song, but at the same time sad at what had transpired while she sang it. One look at her defeated brother and she knew that things had finally taken a huge turn, whether it be for good or for worse, she wasn't sure yet.

Harper didn't return during the rest of Justin's vacation visit, not even once. On the day that Justin had to leave, he kept delaying the time of his departure hoping that she would at least drop by for a quick good bye. After two hours of delay, he finally grabbed his bags and boarded a taxi back to his college where, hopefully, a semester's worth of school work will distract him from thinking about her.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own Wizards of Waverly Place.

Author's Note: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Everybody! Finally, Christmas break is here. I hope everyone's holidays are super duper awesome. So, the last chapter was eventful, to say the least, and I am so glad that a lot of you responded positively to it.

Not much to say this time. Let's read on!

**A Familiar Pattern 11**

**By genielou**

Justin stepped out of his shower, unusually careless of his actions as droplets of water fell onto the cold tiles beneath his feet. He dried himself off, rubbed his face with the towel harder than intended, and then slung it over his shoulder with a huge sigh. Wiping the mist from the bathroom mirror, he propped both hands on the sink and took a long, stern look at himself.

He could barely recognize himself. His eyes are sunken, he has lost weight, the color from his face has been mostly pale, and his lips are fairly thinner compared to the full shapes that they were before. For the past few months that he had been back in school, he had dedicated himself solely to his work, and even more to his extra-curricular projects. The point of doing so was not to earn experience in any way. On the contrary, with too much to do at the same time, he had found his work once or twice less than satisfactory. The reason for this is simply, yet complicatedly, because of a particular girl (the 'only' girl) that has ever rejected him in his adult life.

She walked out of the Waverly Substation almost four months ago, and that very moment when she called him out on his insecurities towards her kept replaying in his mind since then. He has since considered the words, _"you don't love me, do you?" _to forever be his downfall; for whatever came over him that disabled him from running after her, he'll never know.

He shook his head at himself. Justin had thought about those words over and over again since it had happened. At the moment, he knew it was true, but is it true now? It's so easy to say yes, but something inside of him is screaming for him to reevaluate himself. Maybe a different answer will come up if he did so. Unfortunately, his mood since that faithful night has been so unexplainably down.

Presently, he was supposed to meet Zeke for lunch today. Zeke had expressed his newfound interest in attending a four-year university (as opposed to the city college that he was currently in), and Justin couldn't be less excited about it. It had taken him a long while to at least not think about Harper everyday, and now, the man who gets to hold her, kiss her, and whisper sweet nothings into her ear is about to sip a cup of coffee right in front of him. This time, the nostalgia was very unwelcome.

He glanced at the wrist watch that was sitting on the sink counter. He was already running late. With one last look over, he wrapped the towel around his waist, and walked out into his room to get himself ready.

It was a rainy day, with each rain drop seeming like a spoonful. A great addition to Justin's already growing mood. He switched his umbrella from one hand to the other and adjusted his coat. The walk to the local diner where he was supposed to meet Zeke was only a few blocks away, but it felt like miles to him. With each step, a growing spite built up inside of him, and he consequently tried hard to get rid of it.

The door to the diner made a loud ding as he pushed it open. He dropped his umbrella in the tall basket by the door and shook the remaining raindrops from himself before taking his coat off and hanging it on one of the hooks by the door. He skimmed the tiny restaurant for the familiar bulky body that belonged to his former best friend, but found no one close of a resemblance.

Then he heard his name being called out from somewhere near the window booths.

"Justin!" he heard. "Over here."

Justin turned his head towards the direction of the voice and had to squint his eyes to make sure that what he saw was real. There, sitting in a booth style seat by the windows that displayed the pouring rain, was a much smaller Zeke, grinning from ear to ear. He waved excitedly at Justin as he approached his table.

"Hey, man," said the now slimmer Zeke, shaking Justin's hand with both hands. "I'm so glad you came. For a minute there, I thought you weren't gonna make it."

Justin's smiled awkwardly in return. He politely nodded his head in agreement as he took his seat. "Yeah, sorry about that," he replied. "With the rain and all, it takes longer to avoid the flooded areas."

Before they could say more to each other, the waitress came and handed them both a menu. She quickly jotted down their drink orders and hurried away. They continued on in silence as they looked over their meal options. Justin glanced every few seconds at Zeke, obviously still a bit uncomfortable with being in the same room with the man to whom the girl of his discontent belonged to. The unbeknownst Zeke, on the other hand, slightly bobbed his head to a beat in his head as he tried to decide what to eat. Once the waitress returned, she set down two cups of coffee on their table, took their meal orders, and hurried away once more. The two sipped in silence again, with one awkwardly glancing at the other who is sincerely immersed in the warmth of this drink.

After a few more sips, Zeke was the one who broke the silence. "So, Justin," he started. "We didn't really get to hang out that much when you were home. How've you been?"

Justin summarized his college career to him in the next fifteen minutes as they waited for their food. He went on to go into the trials and tribulations of attending a college far away from home, including the challenges of balancing classes while maintaining a personal life and the temptation of reinventing himself in his new environment.

"Reinventing?" asked Zeke. "Why? What was wrong with the old you?"

Justin shrugged both shoulders. "Nothing, really," he answered. "But I thought it'd be nice to not be labeled a 'geek' right off the bat."

Zeke nodded in understanding, then shook his head just as quickly. "I don't think 'geeks' exist in college."

Justin raised an eyebrow at him. "Uh, yeah, they do. Otherwise, there wouldn't be a Science department."

"Yeah, but I just called those people 'the really smart ones.'"

Their meals arrived, and they both busied themselves with adding their usual condiments. Justin attacked the ketchup and pepper while Zeke attacked the salt.

"You know, I kinda figured you did something like that," Zeke started as Justin mixed the pepper into his food. "I mean, look at you, man. You're such a pretty boy now."

Justin snorted. "Yeah?"

"Absolutely," Zeke grinned at him. "Did you even notice how many local honeys were staring at you when you came home? I heard Gigi kept stopping by the Substation too. And she doesn't even like sandwiches."

Justin tried to think back to his time home and couldn't think of a single moment when he noticed Gigi around him. Zeke noticed his frowning.

"She tried talking to you twice, but she said you always seemed distracted," he explained. "She said you were always either talking with your brother or Harper."

Justin nodded in realization. "Right," he said absentmindedly. It was true that he mostly spent his time either unloading his frustration on Max, or pining after Harper.

_Harper_.

Damn. He was successful in not thinking about her for an entire twenty minutes.

"You didn't seem as approachable as you used to be," said Zeke, breaking Justin's thought. "You're so—so—_pretty_."

"Yeah," Justin scoffed. "I believe you've expressed that already."

Zeke chuckled. "Yeah, I know. But I mean—you remember the jocks in high school?"

Justin nodded.

"Remember how intimidating they were? How no one outside of their clique really talked to them because they just looked so damn good looking?"

He nodded again.

"I kinda get that feeling from you now."

Justin frowned at him. Looking back to how he has changed himself, he realized that he had indeed become close to the very thing that he hated so much when he was in high school. He quickly glanced at himself and noticed that even at this very moment, he was dressed more promptly than he would have had when he was younger, especially considering that he was only meeting Zeke. The old Justin would have just thrown on a pair of dirty jeans and an old shirt. Now, he was wearing a nice pair of designer slacks and an equally impressive button-up shirt.

He then remembered Zeke's appearance a few months ago. Justin smirked. "And I suppose your looking like the Hulk is simply 'modesty'?"

Zeke pointed both fingers at him. "Touche!" he joked. "But I didn't do that to reinvent myself. I was still the same ol' Zeke," he shrugged his shoulders. "I did that to impress a certain young lady."

Justin nodded as he took a spoonful of potato hash to his mouth. He has heard as much from Max about how Zeke had changed himself to live up to Harper's standards; although he doubted that this would've changed Harper's opinion of him. She just didn't seem like the type of person to be so superficial.

Damn. He thought about her again.

He eyed Zeke again. "And?" he started. "How about now?"

Zeke raised both eyebrows while chewing on his toast. It took a short moment to realize what Justin had meant as his eyes examined Zeke's current, tinier physique. "Nge-oh," he said, with a mouthful. He swallowed his food before continuing. "I've decided that skinny-Zeke is slightly sexier than beefy-Zeke."

Justin eyed him again.

"What, you don't agree?" he joked. "Look at me, man. I am so much more irresistible now than when I was bench-pressing double-zeros."

Justin chuckled as Zeke proceeded to show off his now less-pronounced arms, which used to be the size of his head but, because of the lack of work-outs, was now more tone than muscle fat. He merely shook his head in amusement. "And—Harper?" he asked, though her name came out almost like a statement to himself than a question towards Zeke. "Wasn't she the lady you were trying to impress?"

"I'll never stop being irresistible in her eyes," he joked, planting a kiss on his left bicep. "But—" he added before Justin could say more, "despite my hunkiness, I'm afraid it was still for the best that we become buddies instead of lovey-dovies."

Justin raised his eyebrows. "Buddies?"

"Yup," replied Zeke before taking a sip of his coffee. "We were already kind of rocky during the summer. Ever since she started attending college, she's had no time for me. Which I totally understand, don't get me wrong," he added quickly at Justin's stern look. "But, well, the fire was dying out faster than we could both save it. So, finally, about a month ago, we decided to just let it be and become friends again."

A light feeling took over Justin, the sort of feeling one gets when realizing that the weather outlook was sunny for a weekend vacation. "I see," he was able to say as he nodded his head. "So, um, you two are okay though, right?"

Zeke grinned. "Of course! We've known each other for far too long just to let something like that completely break us apart."

"Right," Justin said absentmindedly as he lifted his cup to his lips.

Zeke watched him curiously, and smiled. "You know, I kinda got the feeling that she already had somebody else on the side."

Justin choked on his coffee. Zeke immediately offered his napkin to him, with a smirk evident in his face.

Justin rushed to his dorm apartment right after wrapping up his meeting with Zeke by showing him around a portion of the campus, unconsciously splashing people on the way with his quick strides. Once inside his residence, he gave out a huge breath as the relief that he had been feeling was finally released.

"Broke up," he said to himself. "They broke up!"

He punched the air with his fist as he continuously cried out, "Yes! Yes!"

A few minutes more and he finally settled down by his desk, frowning with a hand to his head.

"I gotta make this right," he whispered to himself. He stayed like this for a good while. Finally, an idea popped into his head and his eyes widened. Justin grabbed his wand from underneath his bed mattress, held it out and stood at the ready.

"I need my brother Max right now, hoo-ha-hoo-ha-hoo-ha-HA!"

Suddenly, Max appeared in the middle of the room, seeming to have been in mid-stride of some sort of a dance. He quickly stopped with the curve of his hip sticking out to the left and his upper body to the right. His eyebrows rose as he set his eyes on his older brother. Justin just stared at him, concentrating mainly on the revealing spandex that left little to the imagination.

"Uhm," Max started, still stuck on his pose. "I can explain."

Justin nodded slowly. "Yeah, I think you should."

Max lowered his arms and straightened his body. "It was Mom's idea," he started. "She said that it worked for her so maybe I should try it for myself. And," he smoothed his hands over his stomach to reiterate, "you gotta admit: the woman knows what she was talking about."

Justin watched his younger brother jokingly continue his dance routine in the small dormitory apartment. He couldn't deny that the workout must have been working because of Max's slimmer physique; not skinny, but relatively slimmer than when he had seen him during the summer. His limbs seemed like they were longer, his face smaller, and his neck higher. The only part of him that needed to catch up with the rest of his body was his round stomach.

_I guess everyone is on a diet back home_, he thought to himself.

He chuckled when he recognized various moves that Max was executing. "Zumba?" he asked. The answer was a quick nod and more dancing, now accompanied by humming. Justin became momentarily distracted before finally snapping himself back to the topic at hand; he grabbed a pillow from his bed and threw it at the dancing Max. The pillow hit Max on his butt and fell to the carpeted floor.

"Why didn't you tell me they broke up?" exclaimed Justin.

Max picked up the pillow. "Who broke up?"

"Zeke and Harper!"

"Oh," Max said slowly. "Right, that. I didn't tell you?"

"No, you didn't," Justin answered. He paced the room with both hands on his hips. "I have a chance, Max. I finally have a chance with her."

"Well, yeah, you always did," Max said matter-of-factly, sitting down on Justin's bed with the pillow on his lap. "But you messed up, remember? You told her you didn't love her."

"I didn't _say _I didn't love her. She just assumed it."

"But you didn't deny it."

Justin stopped pacing, a headache threatened to kick in. "Yeah, I was an idiot. _But, _another window of opportunity has opened up. I can fix this!"

"Right!" Max cheered, standing up from the bed and letting the pillow fall to the floor. "What's the plan?"

Justin frowned at him. "I—I haven't gotten that far into this yet. Actually. Yeah."

"That's cool, man. Let's brainstorm." Max took out his wand from underneath his spandex leggings (Justin mentally kicked himself for thinking that particular shadow was anything otherwise), waved it, and a black board appeared in the middle of the room, seeming to float in mid-air. A single piece of chalk appeared as well, much more alive than the black board, and floated near the board as if ready to write something.

"Okay," Max started. "Let's think. Think. Let's list what you did right," at this, the chalk wrote _Things Did Right_. "You hung out with her, and it was totally fun. You guys kept meeting up in the middle of the night, and it was totally hot because both of you were _most definitely _inappropriately dressed. You with your hairless chest and her with her bare legs…" at this, Justin glared at him.

Justin watched him start pacing within the space in front of the floating black board. The shadows on his form kept playing with his mind. When his uncomfortable level finally reached its peak, he took out his own wand again and pointed them at his brother. With a flash, Max's spandex outfit was replaced by a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. Max seemed to not notice and just continued.

"Now," Max declared. "On to things that you did wrong." The chalk wrote _Things Did Wrong _with the word 'wrong' underlined twice for emphasis. Justin winced at this.

"You told her to buzz off before leaving for college. If I remember the story correctly, you inadvertently almost touched her crotch on your first night back." Justin glared at him again when Max winked at him. "You were totally hitting on her while she still had a boyfriend—"

"I wasn't hitting on her. I was just hanging out with her."

Max snorted. "Yeah, buddy. Keep telling yourself that." The chalk kept writing. "You _kissed _her. Oh yeah, I saw that!" Max pointed a finger at him accusingly when Justin's eyes widened. "And may I add again, _she had a boyfriend!_"

Justin's face turned red.

"And finally," said Max. "On the night of the karaoke madness. Would you like to fill in the rest for that one?"

Justin exhaled heavily. Even the chalk seemed to be looking at him. "She said that I probably," he rolled his eyes, "didn't know anything about her. I didn't exactly deny it." The scribbling sound of the chalk on the board felt louder than ever. "And, I—well—didn't deny that I didn't love her."

The chalk suddenly stopped, as if its personality is indicating that it was shocked at what it just heard.

"One more, dude," Max said. When Justin frowned at him, Max grabbed the chalk and wrote on the board with his own hand. The words 'Didn't run after her' was written at the very bottom of the list, making it reach the bottom edge of the board.

This made Justin's face feel hotter. While there were only two lines filled in for _Things Did Right_, the _Things Did Wrong _portion was precisely full. He shook his head at himself in shame. He crossed the room and sat down on his roommate's bed, glaring at the _Things Did Wrong _list. He read every phrase on the list; his eyes resting on each of them for at least a good moment. His eyes stopped at 'Didn't know anything about her,' and his mind wandered back to that particular night. He remembered the disappointment in her expression when he didn't deny this, and the growing sadness in her own eyes whenever she asked him a question about herself and he couldn't quite give her a correct answer. Suddenly, he raised his head in realization.

"That's it!" he exclaimed, rising up and walking towards the board. He poked a finger on the very phrase. "Max, this is the answer." He waited for Max to come closer. "If I can prove to her that I know more about her than she thinks, she'll at least forgive me for that."

Max nodded. "Yeah, yeah, you're right. But—do you know a lot about her?"

Justin shook his head.

"Right. And that is why this plan wouldn't work," said Max.

Justin quickly shook his head again. "No, Max. It has to be this one. I just gotta figure out a way to learn everything I can about her."

He paced the room again. Max paced with him, keeping in stride with only a step behind his brother. He stopped when he realized that his clothes have changed.

Justin stopped shortly after. "I've got it!" he exclaimed. "The Memory Vision."

"Eh?" Max made a face at him. "Come again?"

Justin turned to face him. "The Memory Vision. It's a television channel that shows you a moment in your life that you can't quite remember. It's mostly used by the older wizards, like Professor Crumbs who is like, uhm, uh, a hundred something something… something years old…"

Max eyed him strangely. "That's good and all, Justin, but, it's not like you can't remember when her birthday was. It's more like you don't know it _at all._"

Justin pursed his lips. "Right, but memories are subjective. I only remember what I want to remember. For all I know, there was probably a moment back then when she told me what her favorite type of burrito is and I just wasn't paying attention. If I show her that I know everything about her, that should show her how much I care about her."

Max nodded his head at him. "But, she must have done and said a lot of things around you and you just weren't paying attention. You would have to re-watch your entire life to find out everything about her. That could take forever."

Justin exhaled loudly. "Yeah…" he said slowly. "If I spend a few days out of the week to re-watch my life, it could take me years to watch everything."

His shoulders sagged with defeat.

"Although," he said suddenly. "If I spend every waking moment re-watching my life, it could take only a few months."

Before Max could say more, Justin suddenly yanked the door open and ran out of the apartment. Max ran into the hallway after him. "What are you doing?" he yelled.

"Filing for Medical Leave!" Justin's voice echoed back. Max just frowned at his retreating back.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own Wizards of Waverly Place. No profit is being made by releasing this fic.

Author's Note: Once again, Happy Holidays Everyone! Thank you soo soooo much for receiving the previous chapter so positively. I'm trying to write as much as I can before school starts again, which will be in two weeks' time. You know, I already know in my head what the lay out of this story will be, but putting it together feels like it's getting so harder and harder! I think this would be a lot easier if they already had a closer relationship in the show. But whatever. That's the challenge, right?

Anyway, this chapter will be considerably short. I felt that the events here deserved to be in one chapter only. Also, I think this will build up the tension very nicely. And then the next chapter will be like a continuing installment to this. Please bare with me.

Let's read on!

**A Familiar Pattern 12**

**By genielou**

Jerry and Theresa Russo were both very-well familiar with how the college semester works. They have had to keep an eye on it so that they would know when to expect their daughter, and their surrogate daughter, to come home. So when their eldest son walked through the double doors of the Waverly SubStation, they were more than suprised. They approached him with much curiosity and care but found his following behavior too strange to tolerate, even for someone like him. It became even stranger when he locked himself in his room and stayed there for hours, sometimes even days, while only coming out to use the bathroom. Max seemed to be in on whatever was happening in there because he was the one who provided Justin with his daily food; bringing a tray of whatever Max conjured together in the kitchen, of which sometimes looked inedible. Nevertheless, he always came out of the room with the plates and glasses emptied.

As the holidays came closer, the couple finally cornered Max and demanded why Justin wouldn't come out of his room, even just to eat Thanksgiving dinner with them. Even Alex was beginning to worry. As Max expressed the importance of Justin's isolation, reiterating that it was "in the name of love," Jerry seemed to understand and left it at that, making sure to take his wife along with him. Although, on the week before Christmas eve, Jerry couldn't help but satisfy his inquisitiveness. So, very late on a snowy winter night, he took it upon himself to take a late night snack to Justin's room, using his spare key to open the door instead of knocking.

With great care, Jerry opened the door to Justin's room and was greeted by a low shade of light. He remained still and waited for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. The light seemed to be coming from the television that was perched on a crate from the corner of the room. Sitting very closely in front of that television was Justin's crouched form, covered from the shoulders with a blanket that reached to the floor.

Jerry squinted his eyes as he closed the door behind them. It took him a short while to notice that the room was unusually naked. All of the furniture had been removed, presumably through magic. Only the television and Justin seemed to be present in the entire space.

Jerry slowly stepped closer towards his son with a tray of cereal and milk in his hands.

"Son," he said. "I brought you a snack."

No answer. Jerry stepped closer and closer until he was right behind Justin. He looked to him, and then to the television, and he frowned at the view. There, on the television screen, were all three of his children and Harper at a much younger age. It looked as if none of them were older than ten years old.

It was a familiar scene in a familiar environment. Jerry definitely recognized the old décor of his living room, still on the same apartment that they resided in now, but smaller and less-organized. All four of the children sat around the old coffee table that they used to have in their that room, of which he already got rid of because it was damaged from when Justin realized his magical capabilities. In fact, Jerry believed that what was transpiring on the screen was when the coffee table had been damaged.

Jerry savored the nostalgia as he saw a younger, slimmer version of himself rushed into view as two of the coffee table legs suddenly disappeared, causing one side of the table to fall hard on the floor and the Monopoly board game on it to topple all over the place. An almost infant Max started gathering everyone's fake money bills and stuffed them into his overalls. Harper, with a giant strawberry plush-toy taped on top of her head with duct tape, started crying while Alex, uncharacteristically wearing a brightly-colored summer dress, hugged her as she tried to console her. And Justin, at ten years old with thick eyebrows and wild, bushy hair that looked untamed, just stared quietly at his hands.

"I just touched it," he kept repeating to himself in a small voice. "I just touched it."

The slimmer Jerry tried his best to control the situation but Harper's loud crying seemed to add to his frantic movements. Finally, he made a grab for Max and carried him away as a first step to controlling the panic; bits and pieces of the board game kept falling as they walked away. The young Justin turned towards the crying Harper and scooted closer to her. His eyes started tearing up when he saw the deep cut on her right ankle, seeming to have been done when one side of the table suddenly fell down. Justin just kept saying 'sorry' over and over again in between hiccups as he continued to cry.

The present Jerry jumped slightly when the Justin below him suddenly moved. A wand appeared from beneath his blanket. He pointed it squarely at the television and waved. The scene suddenly stopped, and a hazy copy of what had been frozen floated out of the television, traveling gracefully through the air and settling into a small wooden chest box that Jerry had just noticed to be sitting in front of Justin. Justin then pointed his wand to his throat and spoke allowed.

"The day Harper got a scar on her right ankle when my Wizards powers kicked in. Sorry."

Justin's words seemed to take form as he spoke and floated in mid-air for a short moment before they too reserved themselves into the wooden box. Once that was done with, the scene on the television started up again, resuming from when it had frozen still and continued on to what happened next.

Jerry just stared at him, unable to form his thoughts into words. But the feeling in his chest was strong and enlightening. He felt, to say the least, very proud of his son. It was the sort of feeling that one encounters when he knows his children had taken a leap into true adulthood.

Without another word, Jerry settled the tray of food next to Justin, patted him on the shoulder (wherein Justin finally realized his presence and frowned questioningly at him), kissed him on the forehead and gave him a strong nod of assurance. He quietly let himself out afterwards.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I do not own Wizards of Waverly Place. No profit is being made from releasing this fiction.

Author's Note: Did everyone get anything good for Christmas? I got a bunch of chocolate-covered almonds, and they tasted amazing! If I could, I would eat nothing but those everyday.

Okay, so I was thinking the other day that maybe my romantic ideals are possibly a bit old fashioned compared to what you guys might like today. So I thought, why not take some suggestions? And so, I'm just gonna put this out there: if you have any sort of romantic/sweet moment that you've always dreamed of or that you think would fit this story well, please mention them in the comments. I do read all of the comments very thoroughly and if I find some that would fit well with the next chapter or so, I will definitely include it. And they don't have to be a Justin/Harper moment. If you want something cute to happen with Alex/Mason, Jerry/Theresa, or Max/…. Damn, who does Max have? Whatever, I'll figure that out later. It could even be just a family moment between them too. If it sounds stupid, I'll still consider it. You never know. So come on! Make your romantic/sweet moment come alive and put them in the comment!

And again, thank you very, very much for reviewing the last chapter. Reviews always make me write faster.

On to the story!

**A Familiar Pattern 13**

**by genielou**

The California weather shined brightly over the city of Burbank as a taxi cab parked swiftly in front of a cozy suburban apartment building; its driver hurriedly came out and started towards the luggage that sat by the sidewalk.

"Thanks for the new sewing machine, Daddy," said Harper as she leaned down to kiss her father on the cheek. "I've wanted the portable model for like, ever."

"Anything for my sweetpea," he told her as they both glanced at the taxi driver who was tying a giant cargo box to the opened trunk of the cab car. "Now, sweetie, do you have your passport? Your wallet? Your cellphone and keys?"

Harper rolled her eyes. "Yes, Dad. I have everything in my carry-on," she emphasized by holding up a Tokidoki tote bag, given as a Christmas gift by one of her parents' most trusted business partners. Normally, she didn't use designer-anything, but the brand's particular design fitted her persona so well that she decided to give it a go. "Will you stop worrying? I've re-checked all of my luggage more than twice last night."

"And your snacks, dear?" her mother asked as she came over holding a small plastic bag containing single portions of chips, cereals, and Oreo cookies. She held it out to her daughter. "I don't know why you're so opposed to eating, Harper. I swear you look like skin and bones. Aren't the Russo's feeding you?"

"Yes, Mom. For the fifteenth time, yes." Harper took the bag of snacks from her mother and stuffed it into her tote bag. "I told you, I just work out a lot, that's all. And it's only a few hours' flight anyway. I'm sure I won't starve in that small amount of time."

"Better safe than sorry, I say. Now, come here," she beckoned her daughter to come closer, and took her into her arms when she did. "Now you call us as soon as you land there, you hear? I don't want to hear any excuses." She pointed a stern finger at Harper. "We bought you that cellphone for a reason. It's not just an accessory, young lady."

"Yes, Mom. Promise."

Her mother proceeded to fuzz over her hair, her face, and her clothes, until Harper finally swatted her hands away. Her father stepped in between them to halt the oncoming bickering.

"We're really sorry your mother and I can't spend the New Year's Eve with you. But it's just that we're under a strict contract here." He took her into his arms. "We love you so much."

"I know, Dad," she replied. "You don't have to keep saying it, you know."

Her father merely smiled at her as he embraced her again. This time, her mother joined in on the group hug.

During the plane trip back to New York, Harper spent most of her time skimming through the pictures in her camera. Her parents had been especially caring of her, for once. They had expressed their desire to be with her during the winter break, and insisted that she fly over to Burbank, California where they have been contracted to spend two years to perform for a local entertainment venue. Harper had refused at first but the Russo's had convinced her otherwise, arguing that her parents were trying hard to reach out to her and that she should give them a chance. So, in the end, she had flown to California as soon as her last class in school ended, already anticipating a flight back to New York.

Nonetheless, Harper herself had to admit that she had a lot of fun while staying with her parents, despite her initial opposition. They had taken her everywhere they could in the short two weeks of her stay. Holding the camera firmly in her hands, she skimmed through pictures of her and her parents at Disneyland, Knott's Berry Farm, Lego land, Universal Studios, and lots more. They had even taken her to the local art schools in the areas. She saw the pictures she had taken during her visit at the Otis College of Art and Design, the Art Institute of Orange County, the FDIM Fashion Institute, and the Laguna College of Art and Design. Other random pictures included views of the streets and buildings, and things that she saw at the mall that she wished she could afford. She even took pictures of various patterned cloths when she went to Downtown Los Angeles. The vendors had to kick her out, for fear that she was an undercover cop looking for bootleg sellers.

The amount of support that her parents had shown her towards her craft surprised her as well. She showed them her online portfolio and they had expressed how impress they were of her growth, even more so of the professional finesse that most of her projects exemplified in. Her mother had even reserved one of the dresses that she was working on.

All in all, Harper had to admit that there was not even a single moment of her visit that she didn't like. In fact, if it weren't for the last minute demand for her parents to perform on New Year's Eve, she would have loved to stay longer. For now, she'll have to settle to going back home and facing the dilemmas that she's been avoiding all this time.

Her finger kept pressing the review button until she came upon older pictures. She didn't even recognize them. Eventually, she remembered that the memory card in the camera once belonged to Alex; she lent it to Harper for the California trip, especially. The first batch of pictures she encountered was of her and the Russo's during Thanksgiving dinner. She saw a few with her and Alex, her and Max, and then her with her surrogate parents. There were even a few with her and all four of them together. The absence of one particular family member was obvious at the time, and skimming through the pictures now reminded her of that.

It wasn't that she hated Justin at all. It was more like she thought the meeting would be too awkward for herself or anyone else in the room to bear. She just didn't want to cause her family any discomfort. So when she had heard word that Justin was home during the Thanksgiving weekend, Harper had seriously considered spending the holiday in her dormitory. And she was determined to do so if it wasn't for Alex suddenly appearing into her room early on Thanksgiving morning and unexpectedly flashing her out of her room. She remembered reappearing into the Russo's' living room a good ten inches above the floor, causing her to land disgracefully and grabbing onto Alex before she lost her footing. Alex received a scolding from her mother shortly after that, and then the rest of the day was spent joyously as they bustled about, trying to get dinner set up. Much to Harper's relief, Justin did not show his face at all. Word had it that he's been locked up in his room doing who-knows-what, and no one has been able to get him to come out. She couldn't even get a glimpse of him going to the bathroom. Harper didn't rule out the possibility that he might just be flashing himself into the bathroom to keep himself from being seen.

Harper kept skimming through and encountered ones that she thought were from the Super Hero Convention, where Justin had kissed her. Although, she's still not quite sure about that. Someday, she's going to have to confirm if that really happened. Somehow.

She continued skimming, going through other moments that she remembered. She saw her high school graduation, prom night, her last homecoming, her cheerleading games, and so on. And then, she saw a picture that she didn't think Alex had seen. There was a blurry green shape in the corner of the picture, making it evident that the picture was snapped from behind the bushes. It was of Juliet by the Waverly Place creek with the man in question. His features are not visible, but only because he was bent down with his face slightly slanted towards her cheek (her own head was covering him). Juliet's face, on the other hand, looked red and shy. And Harper knew very well why. That was the night when Harper had used magic to disguise herself as Juliet and went on a date with Justin, hoping to convince him to move on from their tragic break-up. He had found out the truth, of course, and Harper had to come clean with the whole plan. In the end, Justin was surprisingly understanding and forgave her with no remorse.

As a reward for her efforts on his behalf, he had actually kissed her on the cheek; a gesture that she thought she would never be able to experience. Harper remembered very clearly how she had felt at the very moment that it happened. As soon as he started leaning down, she became both anxious and afraid. She automatically stiffened as she readied herself, although she didn't really quite know how to get ready at that point. And when it actually happened, when he finally kissed her, she suddenly felt enlightened and free. It was as if all the tension on her shoulders had gone away and all that mattered in her life was that she was able to stand there with him leaning so closely towards her. It was almost fair to say that it was one of the happiest moments of her life.

It was just too bad that their relationship became too complicated to maintain after that.

Harper became so engrossed with nostalgia that she didn't even notice how time flew by. Before she knew it, a map appeared on the movie screen displaying the map that indicated how close the plane was from its destination. The flight attendant started prepping passengers for landing shortly after that.

The only person to meet Harper at the terminal was a bored-looking Alex leaning on a luggage cart, and she was relieved by this. Normally, she would have loved a big welcome, but plane trips always made her too tired for that. Besides, she often considered her best friend's welcome to worth more than any other welcome. So as soon as they saw each other, they hugged as if they haven't seen each other in years. Alex helped her gather her other luggage and waited patiently as she took care of other formal paperwork. Once finished, Harper started heading towards the taxi line. But before she could reach it, she suddenly realized that Alex wasn't following her. Alex was heading towards the pedestrian that crosses to the parking lot instead. Harper quickly detoured and ran after her.

"You brought a car?" she asked. The answer she got was a simple "hum-hmm" while Alex got ready to walk without waiting for the _walk _sign to turn green. Harper had to hold on to the back of Alex's jacket to keep her from walking.

As soon as they reached the lot, Alex pushed the luggage cart into the elevator and pushed the button for the highest level. Harper just frowned at her, wondering whose car she could've brought. That is, until Alex slid her wand out from the inside of her boot.

Harper looked at her in horror. "You wouldn't."

Alex merely grinned at her before flicking her wand and making both of them disappear in a bright flash. They reappeared seconds later in the Russo's living room, with Alex's feet flat on the carpeted floor. Unfortunately, Harper's lack expertise on magically flashing has yet to improve. She reappeared with her feet 12 inches above the floor, relatively higher than the last time she remembered experiencing it. Her feet landed hard on the floor, making her lose her footing and falling down altogether. She quickly scrambled to stand up.

"I hate it when you do that!" she yelled while pinching her nose and blowing inwards to try to pop her ears. Alex just chuckled at her as she pointed her wand at the luggage that was still on the cart. The luggage vanished with a flash, leaving the cart on the carpeted floor.

"You should've expected that," Alex laughed at her. "How long have you known me?"

"You suck!" Harper yelled again, and then started coughing when she blew inwards too hard.

Theresa suddenly came bustling in, carrying a big, casserole pot in her arms. "Harper!" she exclaimed upon seeing her. "I wasn't expecting you for few more hours. I wish I'd known that you'd be here so soon. I was just about to work on dinner."

"It's okay, Mrs. Russo!" Harper yelled. She blew inwards again, making her face turn slightly purple. She exhaled in exhaustion. "I'm fine! I'm not. THAT. HUNGRY!"

Theresa pulled back a bit at the loud shouts. Then she aimed a stern look towards Alex. "What did you do to her?"

"Mother, please," Alex said with an insulted expression on her face. "Why would you think that I did anything to her?"

"Does anyone have a Q-tip! I think I can pop my ears if I use a Q-tip!"

Theresa pointed a finger at Alex. "Alexandra Margarita Russo. Did you flash Harper out of the airport?"

"I might have some in my luggage! Alex, where did they go?"

"Jerry!"

"Is that the phone! I hear ringing! Somebody should get that!"

Between her mother trying to ground her and Harper yelling for a Q-tip, Alex just couldn't decide whether she wanted to cringe or laugh. After much deliberation, she decided to sit herself down on the couch and chuckle to herself. Harper joined her after she was finally able to pop her ears, dropping herself heavily on Alex's lap first as revenge before settling herself down next to her.

The afternoon went as such, with almost a full hour of "At the airport? Do you have any idea what could've happened if you were seen, young lady?" and Harper eating the sandwich that Theresa had made her as a snack. Harper tried her best to stay alert, but eventually, the tension that her body held from the flight overwhelmed her and she fell asleep on the couch. It was only at dinner time that Max woke her up.

"Time for dinner, Red," he greeted. "We got some cob bobs done while you snoozed away."

Harper ate dinner more at ease than she had for the past two weeks, basking in the silliness that the Russo's seem to exceed in. Her favorite moments for this particular night was whenever Max tried to fork the meats. Theresa would always catch him and slap his hand away, and then punished him further by dumping more vegetables on his plate. After a while, Alex grew tired of this and quickly shoved a handful of pork into his mouth after yelling "That pigeon's eating the pumpkins!", causing both of her parents to get up from their seat and running out onto the balcony area. Mostly, for the entirety of the meal, Harper wondered where Justin was. Again.

"He's sleeping," Alex told her as they made their way down the stairs to the Sub Station. "He's a little sick so Mom gave him medicine. He's been sleeping for days now."

Harper looked at her warily. "Is he okay, though? What kind of sick is he?"

Alex grinned at her. "Just sleep-deprived. And maybe some other kind of sick."

They turned towards the direction of her basement room, unlocked the door, and headed down the dark stairwell. Upon reaching the ground level, Harper flipped the light switch and was surprised to be greeted by a pile of gifts sitting on her bed. She smiled widely as she ran towards them. "Really?"

"Heck yeah!" Alex exclaimed. Then she ran forward and leaped onto Harper's bed, landing on her feet and spreading her arms wide. "Merry late Christmazaahanukkah! This one's from me, that ugly one's from Max, and then Mom and Dad, and then Zeke."

Harper halted her unwrapping to frown at Alex.

"Christmas, Kwanzaa, and Hanukkah. Duh."

At this, even Harper had to giggle. "So, what's the plan for tomorrow night?"

"Tomorrow night?" Alex repeated.

Harper stared at her exasperatedly. "Alex, you've always had something planned for the both of us every New Year's Eve. Last year, we spent it inside the New Year's Ball with a tub of ice cream. And may I remind you that being inside that thing while it dropped was one of the most uncomfortable experiences in my life." Alex chuckled again. "And the year before that, we spent it inside an episode of _Friends_, where, I really can't figure out why you did it for the life of me, you completely thrashed Monica's apartment."

"Wahahaha that was so frickin' awesome!" Alex squeezed out of herself in between the wheezing and the laughing.

"And so?" Harper tried again. "This year?"

Alex suddenly stopped laughing. "Well, this year," she started, her tone indicating a scheme. "I thought that maybe we should spend it apart from—each—other—because! Because…"

Harper was slowly putting down the gift she had in hand.

"Because, Harper, and this is a good reason, you'll see," Alex stepped off of the bed. "Because I thought that maybe—maybe—you would definitely have, uh, plans."

"Plans?" Repeated Harper. "I never have plans on New Year's Eve. I always figure that I'd be spending it with you."

"Right! And you will! If, and only _if_ you don't do anything else, which you might." Alex stiffened on the spot and grinned at her.

Harper eyed her suspiciously. "Why are you so jittery?"

"I'm not! I'm—I am _not_ jittery. What—Harper, buddy," she slacked her shoulders and maintained her toothy smile. "You know me. I don't even know what jittery means."

Harper frowned at her. Alex's eyes seemed to look everywhere but at her. Suddenly she grabbed a gift from the bed.

"Oh, look! I think I know what's in this one. I think you'll really love it. Here," she shoved the gift into Harper's arms. "Don't open it until I get out."

And without another word, Alex flashed herself out, leaving a confused-looking Harper behind.

Harper stood from her bed, and stared at the gift in her hands. "Weird," she whispered to herself. The gift, which was the size of a shoebox, was unusually wrapped. It was, in fact the only gift in the pile of gifts that was wrapped in junk mail. She slowly unwrapped the gift, being careful to tear the tape on only one side of it first. Once she got a decent opening, she was able to tear the paper at a perfect angle, enabling her to take a peek at the box; and what she saw was something much unexpected. There, underneath the junk mail wrapping paper, was a box labeled "Captain Jim Bob Sherwood Toddler Boots." Harper frowned at it even more. The clue was just too obvious but the question still stands as to what he could possibly give her that Alex thought she would love.

She tore the paper completely off of the box and, holding it up, eyed it strangely. Seeing that there was no magical trick that would blow up on her face, Harper slowly pulled the top off of the old, shoe box. From inside of it, she pulled out what looked like a mahogany-colored, wooden chest box.

"Weirder," she whispered to herself again.

Discarding the shoebox to the floor, she gripped the chest box firmly in her hands and flipped it to and fro as she examined it, not quite sure what to make of it. It was, she thought it fair to say, the most poorly decorated chest box she had ever seen. It looked as if a ten-year-old got their hands on a bejeweling machine, glitters, and a glue gun, and just went crazy on the thing. It had various colored plastic jewels glued onto it, with pink glitter spread randomly throughout the entire box, pathetically serving to almost act like a binder to make the box look _pretty_. On the top lid of the box, were darker-colored jewel stones arranged to form her name, _HARPER_. Clumps of glitter have been glued underneath her name to make the letters pop out more clearly.

A sense of affection overtook her as she traced her name with her fingers. She wasn't sure why Justin would give her such a mediocre gift, but the hand-made quality of it made her appreciate it much more than she would've expected. Was this his idea of an apology?

And then, she did what anyone would have done when encountering any sort of storage device at a store. She opened it. And as soon as she did, she couldn't help but scream aloud and jump back as thousands of dimly-lit bubbles shot out of the box, spreading throughout the entirety of the basement room. She lost her footing and fell to the ground, with the box still held tightly in one hand. The magic within the box seemed to turn off any other light that had been on, making the bubbles shine brighter.

"Wow." Harper ogled foolishly at the sight, her eyes trying to scan the entire room as quickly as it could. She slowly hoisted herself up, and then closed her eyes to try to calm them from the sudden change of lighting in the room. When she opened them again, she could see everything much clearer. The bubbles that completely filled the space of the room were much more colorful and much more defined. And within every bubble, there seemed to be some movement going on with the colors.

Concentrating on one particular bubble, Harper quietly stared at it whilst walking towards it. With every step that she took, the bubble seemed to grow wider and shine brighter. With every step, the colors on within the bubble seemed to form shapes and as they moved, some sort of audio began to take form as well. Harper kept walking towards it until the bubble was as large as a typical television. She remained silent, with her mouth wide open, as she watched the shapes inside of it perform a scene.

She recognized herself, a much younger version of herself, on her tenth birthday party. A ten-year-old Alex was standing right next to her as a crowd of friends surrounded her and started singing "Happy Birthday." Her younger self giggled uncontrollably as her parents appeared and placed her birthday cake in front of her.

"What is this?" Harper whispered as she kept watching.

Her younger self blew out all of the candles in one big puff, and everyone clapped and cheered. And then, off to the side, she saw a boy sneeze loudly. As if it was by magic, the candles were suddenly lit again. Ten-year-old Harper frowned at the cake and then at Alex.

A tiny caption floated through at the bottom of the bubble, and Harper took her eyes away from the scene to read it.

"_One of the many times that my Wizards powers activated on its own. It only happens whenever Harper is around."_

Harper's eyes widened as she lifted them up to the scene again. She stared at the boy who sneezed and waited until he looked up. When he did, she wasn't surprised at all to see who it was.

It was an eleven-year-old Justin, his expression sheepish from what had just happened.

Immediately realizing what was around her, Harper quickly turned and trudged towards another bubble. She kept walking towards it until it became wide enough for her to see everything clearly from within it. And then, as if automatically, the scene reacted. She watched intently as a thirteen-year-old version of herself, wearing a Supergirl costume, dragging Alex (of the same age) behind her. It was her on her very first Halloween Party.

"Harper, please let me go home," whined Alex. "I'm so bored."

"Only because you're not giving it a chance," she told her as she eyed Alex's overalls. "You should've worn a costume. It would've been a lot more fun if you did."

The young Alex merely scoffed at her and continued dragging her feet. The two kept walking until they saw _him_. Fourteen-year-old Justin's geeky persona was much more evident then, with his flat hair, thick glasses and braces. He was wearing a Superman costume, and looked very dissatisfied when he saw Harper's costume.

"Harper! I told you not to wear that," he exclaimed. "Now everyone will think that we're a couple."

"Well, what's wrong with that?" Harper asked.

The present Harper watched on, remembering exactly what was significant in this particular scene. The day before that convention was when she openly admitted to Alex that she had a crush on Justin. And on that morning of the convention, she had admitted to Justin himself that she wanted to have his babies. It was creepy, yes. But thirteen-year-old Harper just didn't know better than to say otherwise. No wonder Justin had thought she was a strange girl for the next five years that followed.

Harper was just about to read the text that was slowly materialized until she noticed something that she didn't remember happening. As Alex dragged her friend away (the discomfort of her newly-revealed crush evident in her expression), it looked as if Justin kept watching them for longer than he usually would have. He actually kept watching them walk away until they were completely out of sight.

Then, Harper read the text. "_First time I realized that Harper has cute legs."_

"Oh," Harper blushed.

She kept moving around, scanning through as many bubbles as she could until she encountered scenes that were more recent. She saw herself a child, herself as a young teenager, and herself at an age very close to what she was now. It was like she was seeing her entire life unfold all over again in that very room.

Harper stopped abruptly as one specific bubble caught her eye immediately. It was the scene that she reveled on while in the plane; except this scene stopped right before Justin kissed her cheek. The scene was precisely of the few seconds consisting of when Justin leaned down and was about to do the deed. Harper frowned at this and then proceeded to read the text.

"_I would have preferred it if I was kissing Harper's real cheek."_

Harper's cheeks flushed as heat rose up onto her face. It felt like Justin's inner most secrets were being revealed one by one and all of it was starting to overwhelm her.

Deciding to examine one more bubble, Harper looked for the most recent scene, or actually the last scene that she remembered being with him.

"But you don't love me, do you?" She heard herself say.

It was just that. Nothing else. A few seconds later, it would replay with her looking up with pleading eyes, saying the same thing again, "But you don't love me, do you?"

Harper's eyes casted down as she waited for the secret behind this particular scene. And when it appeared, she couldn't help but hold a hand to her mouth as she gasped in surprised.

"_The first time I realized that I don't not-love Harper."_


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I do not own Wizards of Waverly Place. No profit is being made from releasing this fiction.

Author's Note: So? How was the last chapter? Likes? Dislikes? Sorry, it took a while to put it up. The chapters are getting kinda insanely long, aren't they? I wish they were shorter but there's just so much to cover in the story so I just couldn't do that.

So if anyone hasn't figured it out, this is basically what I'm trying to do... I'm trying to give WOWP an ending. Because, and please don't kill me for mentioning this, I really think that the show is coming to an end and I highly doubt that Disney will give us the epic ending that the show deserves. Sad, right? I figured it was coming to a close because the show seems to be progressing too fast, and it's on its 4th season, right? I'm old enough to say that from my experience, Disney only keeps a show going for a certain amount of seasons (or years) and there are some subtle hints that they show when they're about to end the show. One obvious sign would be the actual number of seasons or years the show has been on. Another is if there is a character in the show who has graduated high school and is moving towards college *cough* Justin *cough*. Another is if they make a movie. That's how Even Stevens and Lizzie McGuire came to an end, and other shows that I can't seem to remember the titles of (which makes me sad...).

So here's to hoping that Wizards of Waverly Place will be around for the whole duration of 2011 before they finally pull the plug. Cheers!

I'd also like to give a shoutout to raksha2010. You're awesome! Thank you for mentioning me in your fic. I hope we can inspire other authors to write more Jarper stories.

**A Familiar Pattern 14**

**by genielou**

Alex opened the box, enabling the thousands upon thousands of bubbles to come bursting out. The multicolored lights that shown from each one shone brightly and reflected beautifully on her skin. She basked in the supernatural feel of the atmosphere for a few seconds more before slightly nudging the lid of the chestbox, wherein the bubbles came pouring back into the box before she could close it completely.

And then she opened it again, and the bubbles bursted out once more. She chuckled before closing it. After merely a few seconds more, she opened it again.

"I can't believe it actually worked," she uttered as her eyes remain wide with amazement.

Harper turned towards her. "What did you say?"

"Oh, nothing," Alex said in a fake nonchalance.

Harper leaned back onto the pillows of Alex's bed, hugging one in her arms. During the previous night, after examining the very last bubble that contained Justin's confession of his 'almost-attraction' towards Harper, she quickly closed the box and burried it under a pile of her pillows. She hid it as if the thing contained some sort of disease that would infect the environment if it was exposed. Harper didn't quite know what else to do with it. She had thought seriously about opening it again to reexamine its contents, thinking that maybe she had made a mistake in reading that bubble. But everytime she was about to reach for the chest box, she would nervously withdraw her hand in the recognition of her desire to preserve that confession in her head. If it really was a mistake, she didn't want to know it quite yet.

And so, unable to sleep in her bed knowing that the chest box was under her pillows, she decided to stay up all night to set up and test out her new sewing machine. In her insomnia, she was able to finish design and finish the inner lining of a purse, create a rough prototype of a dress, and restitch a torn sleeve on a jacket that Alex had been bugging her to fix. As soon as the sun started peaking through the horizon, she dug the chest box out of the pile of pillows, gathered Alex's jacket in her arms, and headed up to Alex's room. It took a bit of effort to wake up the young Wizard but when she finally did, the curiosity of the chest box's secrets peaked her curiosity enough that she actually rose out of her bed on her own.

Harper sighed loudly. "I'm guessing this is why he's been locked up in his room this entire time?" she asked. "To work on this?"

"Probably. Most likely." Alex shrugged. "Man, there's something written on all of them. This must have taken forever."

"Yeah, that crossed my mind already." Harper stood from her perch and started pacing the room. Whenever Alex opened the box and a bubble disrupted her pace, she would simply bat it away with a hand and kept walking. "I'm not really sure what to think of this, Alex. Is this like a 'sorry' or something?"

"My answer to that would be 'ah, _duh_'!" said Alex, sarcasm evident in her tone. She opened the box again, her eyes wide with delight as she gazed and giggled at the dazzling colors above her. "This is so frickin' cool! Count on Justin to make something like this."

Harper rolled her eyes at her. "I guess the bigger question would be what exactly is he apologizing for?" she muttered. She paced around the room and stopped in front of a very significant bubble, which is the last one that she viewed the previous night. The text at the bottom, '_The first time I realized that I don't not-love Harper_', felt bigger and louder than before.

Alex set the open box on the bed as she stood up, both hands propped on her waist. "Well, he has a lot to apologize for. Maybe he's just _apologizing_ in general."

Harper tried to touch the words, but as soon as her finger tips reached the words, they broke apart into a white mist, only to reform themselves once she withdrew her hand. "If only it were that simple. But this is Justin we're talking about here." She stared harder at the text, frowning. "Just when I was finally starting to get over it, you suck me back in. You- JERK! Ngargh!" she exclaimed as she flailed her hands repeatedly over the text. The words reformed without malice when she withdrew her hands.

Alex raised an eyebrow at her. "Harper. Down." She said sternly with a pointed finger. She walked round and about, skimming through the bubbles just as Harper had done the first time she opened the box. With the dim lighting and the different shades of color that danced around, it was hard not to feel the gift's romantic nature.

With this in mind, Alex quickly announced, "Maybe he's still interested in you."

Harper turned a curious eye to her.

"Come on, Harper. Don't tell me you haven't thought of _that_," said Alex. "He left school in the middle of the Fall term, came home and locked himself up in his room to work on- _this_," she emphasized by gesturing towards the entire room. "Even with magic, doing something like this is _not _easy."

Alex started reading text after text, not even paying attention to the pictures. And then, she read a text that looked familiar to her, more of association than it was from actually witnessing the particular event that it displayed on the bubble.

"Interesting," she said to herself.

She held out both hands and tried to grab the bubble; but just as it did to Harper, the entire bubble broke apart into a mist when she touched it. Walking back to her bed, she took her wand out from under her pillow, and then walked back to that bubble; this took a while longer than it should have because all of the bubbles looked the same from afar. When she finally found it, she jabbed her wand into it.

"Take that!" she said.

Not surprising to her, the bubble remained intact. She chuckled to herself and smiled victoriously. She then took it with her as she walked towards Harper, with the wand (and the bubble stuck onto it) held tightly in one hand.

Alex held it up for her to see. "I think I've found what he's apologizing for."

Harper looked at Alex, then at the bubble. She had to walk closer because, for some reason, Alex's wand was keeping the bubble from growing bigger in a way it should have.

"-_ allergic to?" _she heard herself say from within the bubble. Her voice tinier. "_My- my birthday_?"

She had to frown, not really understanding what was happening. The entire scene finally replayed when the scene froze upon reaching a close-up of Justin's grim expression, allowing Harper to watch the entire thing.

"_I bet you don't know anything about me_," she heard herself say again. "_My favorite color? What I'm allergic to? My- my birthday?"_

Harper cringed everytime she asked a question, knowing fully well that none of them were answered. She saw Justin's grim expression again, aware of the shame in his frown.

Her own eyes travelled down to the text and what she saw was unexpectedly short and vague.

"_I'm sorry."_

Alex grinned knowingly at her. "I guess he knows a lot about you now."

Unbeknowest to Harper, Alex was well aware of what was really happening, but felt it inappropriate to intervene. Not _inappropriate_ in a sense that she thought it more noble to simply stay out of the situation, but _inappropriate _in that she wanted her older brother to suffer before being rewarded forgiveness. In a twisted sort of way, it was all still properly Alex-like of her to stay out of it. So far so good, Harper was on the way to doing exactly that.

Although, much to Alex's disappointment, Harper was much slower at realizing her own feelings than Alex would've preferred; for on the day of the New Year's Eve, Harper announced that she would rather spend the night with Alex. So, on that night, while Justin was still relatively unheard of to the outside world, Harper tagged along with Alex and her entire family to Times Square where probably the entire city was gathered. Even Mason was present for the occasion, deciding to spend the time away from his clan.

"You look very beautiful, Harper," Mason told her; his accent still quite enchanting even after over four years of countenance. He bent down and kissed her cheek. "Your ensemble befits you very well."

Harper blushed. "You think so?" She looked down onto herself. Her brown coat covered most of her, seeming as it reached all the way down to her knees, but what was visible of her dress showed off the subtlety of her style. The white sleeveless, lace dress that she wore flowed freely with her every movement, converting into complicatedly curved frillies as they reached halfway down her thighs. Underneath the opaque dress was another dress, only more skin-tight and almost obviously revealing. The black, form-fitting dress was patterned heavily with different sized butterflies, unseen to the rest unless one comes close and stares at the dress. And underneath the dress, for the sake of the cold weather, Harper wore dark leggings that covered the entirety of her legs; reaching all the way to her ankles but covered from above her calves by high boots. She thought much of how she would present herself that night, even though it was for no one else in particular.

"Yeah, yeah, we all know Harper's all pretty and whatnot," Alex commented. "Now talk about me," she beckoned of her boyfriend.

Mason turned to her and smiled. "Dear, you know I always think you're the most beautiful girl in the world. But perhaps just for tonight, we should be more attentive to our Harper here." He leaned down and, with a hand to his mouth, whispered loudly, "It must be terribly lonely to spend the Eve without a date."

Harper glared at him. "Mason. I can hear you." She gestured at herself. "I'm right here."

Mason just looked sheepishly at her. Although, his declaration was nothing but the truth. Mr. and Mrs. Russo had each other, Alex was obviously with Mason, and even Max was supposed to meet his date somewhere in Times Square (count on Max to unexpectedly have a partner for New Year's Eve). Harper was the only one that didn't have a significant other to kiss when the clock strikes midnight.

"Excuse me."

She turned to the owner of the voice. A smile escaped from her lips when she saw a very handsome man before her. "Hi," she squeaked as her heart felt like it was about to leap out of her chest.

"Hi," he said in return. He smiled widely at her as he held out a hand to her. "The name's Daryn."

"Hi, Daryn," she took his hand in hers and squeezed lightly. "I'm Hot- Harper! Har- Per." She mentally knocked a fist to her head.

"Hi, Harper." His smile didn't falter. And for a short moment, Harper felt hopeful of the situation. That was, until his other hand slowly went up. Her eyes casted down and she saw a tiny digital camera in his hand. "Would you mind taking a picture of us?"

"Eh?" was the only sound that came out of her. It was only then that she was able to look past his shoulder and see that there was a short girl standing behind him, smiling shyly. Harper blinked at her, unbelieving of what was happening before her. "Um, sure. I guess so."

She held her hand out to the camera, but before she could reach it, another hand intercepted hers and took the camera from him.

"I'd be more than happy to," Mason said. He gently nudged Harper aside as he got into position to take the photograph. "Say cheese!"

Harper strayed away from the scene, a bit embarassed at what had just transpired. She didn't even turn when Alex stepped closer to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

Alex heaved a deep sigh. "You okay, Harper?"

Harper pouted her lips and frowned. "I hate New Year's Eve. It sucks when you're single."

"Yup, yup," said Alex. "Boy, am I lucky I don't have to worry about that anymore."

Harper glared at her.

"Okay, woman, you need to relax," she told her. "You know very well where you can go if you want someone to kiss tonight."

Harper's head slowly turned towards where Max stood waiting for his date.

"No, no. No! He's younger than you. And it's _Max_. That's just weird," Alex scolded. "I'm talking about Justin."

Harper sighed loudly.

"Oh, Honey! Twenty minutes to go!" Theresa exclaimed as she clung to her husband's arm. "Should we call Justin? He should be awake by now, shouldn't he?"

"I don't know, Theresa. He was pretty drugged up when we left him," Jerry glanced at the giant digital clock that flashed menacingly throughout the entire Times Square area. "Why don't we just let him sleep a while longer?"

"But it's almost New Year's Eve and I want to be able to talk to my son before the ball drops." She rummaged through her bag for her cellphone. "Everyone come closer. I'm gonna call your brother and wish him a Happy New Year's."

"Oh, sweet. She's here!" Max jumped giddily as he stared onto the space where a tiny blonde stood looking about. "Mom, hurry up. I gotta go."

Theresa held the phone up to her ear and waited as the tone emitted a ringing sound. After less than a minute, she frowned and pushed buttons on her phone again. She replaced it back to her ear. "He must still be fast asleep," she muttered

Harper stood still, her eyes wandering from each family member. Theresa was concentrating with a frown as she dialed on her phone again; all the while with her other hand still clung firmly on Jerry's arm and his hand placed on top of hers. Alex jittered about as she waited to greet her older brother over the phone; she giggled aloud when Mason leaned close to her ear with a smile. Max waved about in the direction of the blonde that stood from afar as she looked around aimlessly, trying to catch her attention. When her eyes reached the rest of the street's occupants, she saw the same thing; couples all around were clinging to each other, giggling and laughing. Harper's mood would've been even more down if there had been kissing; luckily that wouldn't happen for another fifteen minutes.

_Fifteen minutes_, she thought to herself. _In fifteen minutes, I'll be the only one here with no one to kiss_.

That single thought was enough to lift her from her deep mood, but not towards enlightenment. On the contrary, it seemed to lift her mood into a stronger one; irritation, maybe. Annoyed, possibly.

Defiant, definitely.

She heaved a huge breath before suddenly declaring with a huge frown, "I have to go."

Mason was quick to notice her declaration. "Go? What do you mean _go_?"

"I mean, I have to go. Like, right now," she said as she scanned the crowd, looking for the quickest route to go through.

Alex smiled affectionately at her. "Got lonely, did ya?"

Harper glared at her. "No, just a little pissed." And with those last words, she stepped away from her family and ran head on into the busy streetway. It didn't take long for her form to disappear into the thick crowd.

Theresa and Jerry seemed too preoccupied with fidgetting with her phone while Max was still distracted with trying to catch his date's attention. Mason, not completely unaware of the situation, huggged Alex and kissed her brow.

"Hello?" Theresa said. "Hello? Justin, speak up, sweetie! It's getting kinda loud out here!"


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I do not own Wizards of Waverly Place. No profit is being made from releasing this fic.

Author's Note: Ngah! The tension! People are probably ready to kill me now so I won't say anything this time.

To scifichick07: I really liked your suggestion so I used it. I decided to expand on it, so although this isn't exactly what you suggested, it is still based on it. Thank you. If you have any more suggestions, feel free to include them in the comments. And that goes for everyone!

Let's read on!

**A Familiar Pattern 15**

**by genielou**

Justin awoke with a groan to the loud barking of "Who Let the Dogs Out" (by The Baha Men). He turned to his side but kept his head buried in his pillow as his hand flailed around clumsily, estimating its way towards the source of the sound. Feeling the rectangular shape of his cell phone, he picked it up while pressing his thumb onto it, looking for any available button that would make it stop. When it did stop, he let it drop onto the floor before re-treating his hand back into the warmth of his blanket.

The inside of the house was quiet, but he could faintly hear the loud cheering coming from outside of his window. Why this was so, he wasn't quite sure. And at the moment, he just couldn't bring himself to care enough to find out. Although he was feeling relatively better than before, his head was still hazy from weeks of being in bed. He was subjected to a very high fever, which developed to an acute pneumonia; and this eventually worsened when he ignored it and just kept working on his gift for Harper. The lack of sleep, fatigue, not eating properly, and so on, made it much, much worse and much harder to cure. He was finally starting to feel better. Nonetheless, after so many weeks of medication, he really couldn't help but still be bitter about it.

"_Who let the dogs out? Arf! Arf, Arf, ARF!"_

He groaned.

Justin had known he would get sick eventually, given that he had ignored his aches and pains just to finish Harper's gift. And although it was much worse than he had expected, he thought it was well worth it. It was just too bad that he wasn't present when she actually opened the gift.

That is, if she had opened it at all. He wasn't even sure of that. So many weeks in his room has disabled him from telling time correctly.

"_Arf! Arf!_"

The music suddenly stopped, and he savored the 30 seconds of quiet. And then the music blasted again.

"Argh! What the hell!" he exclaimed. He rose from his bed and scanned his surroundings with one eye barely open. It must be the medicine that was keeping his vision from adjusting to the darkness, because he really couldn't see anything at all. He reached out towards his nightstand and fumbled for his lamp; he winced when he heard something crash to the floor. He sighed aloud in frustration.

When he was finally able to switch on the lamp, the music stopped abruptly. "Of course it would stop right when I can finally see."

Justin rubbed the sleep from his eyes before rising from his bed. His joints cracked slightly at every step, and he groaned as he felt pain rise from his knees. He winced at the soreness of his muscles, and, cursing to himself, stretched to try to rid of them. When the Baha Men started barking again, Justin merely ignored it and proceeded towards the light switch of his room. He groaned loudly as the light assaulted his sleepy eyes and he saw nothing but a white glare for a good few seconds. The music stopped again.

He stood by the light switch as he took a gander at the sight of his room. It was a mess, to say the least. Contrary to what women believe of men, not all of them are untidy; and Justin happened to be one of those who prefer the cleanliness of his environment over anything. Unfortunately, on that night, he simply wasn't worthy to be titled within that 'clean' group. At this, he couldn't help but groan loudly again; even louder when the familiar barking interrupted his thoughts.

Irritated, he limped towards where his phone lay on the floor, picked it up, and pressed the green button firmly.

"WHAT!" he screamed into his phone.

"Hello? Hello?"

Justin frowned. "Mom? Hello, Mommy?" He strained to try to hear Theresa's voice over the many other voices in the background. "Mom! Can you hear me?"

He heard giggling and then a faint conversation. Something about somebody having to go.

"Justin, speak up sweetie!" he heard her yell. "It's getting kinda loud out here!"

He had to stray his ear away from the phone when she yelled. There was shouting and cheering going on.

"Mom, where are you?"

"Times Square, sweetie! Where else?"

Justin frowned. He quickly walked towards his bedroom window and peaked through the blinds. The tiny alley of Waverly Place is overcrowded with people wearing party hats and beaded necklaces, all seeming to have some sort of a noise-maker in hand like a whistle, horn, or tiny trumpets. Justin's eyes widened when he realized what they were for.

"Oh my god. It's New Year's Eve?" he asked.

"Yes, honey. We told you that before we left the house," said Theresa.

"Why didn't you take me with you?"

"Justin, we tried but you just kept going back to bed. We figured it'd be best if we just let you stay home." He heard his father say hi in the background. "It's way too cold out here for someone with a fever."

"But, Mom," he whined. "I would've toughed it out for New Year's Eve. It's New Year's Eve!"

"I don't doubt that, but the doctor said that you needed rest so your Father and I decided to just let you sleep."

Justin tsked.

"There'll be more New Years to come," Theresa concluded. The crowd suddenly erupted from behind her. "I'm sorry, Hon, but I'm gonna have to go. The ball just lit up!"

"Mom! Mom? Mommy!" Justin yelled onto the phone. "Wait, stay on the line so we can count down together."

"What?" Theresa yelled back. "I can't hear you, Justin! It's too loud over here! I'll just see you when we get home! Happy New Year's, Justin!"

And with that, the call ended. Justin was left to himself again, with only the sound of the growing volume of cheering from outside of the apartment. With a defeated sigh, he tossed his cellphone onto his bed and walked out of his room. He shivered with each step on the cold, linoleum floor as he made his way towards the kitchen.

_"The doctor said..." _was what his mother had pressed on. Normally Justin would have agreed, but on such an occasion, he was willing to question his own policies. It was bad enough that he was still brooding over Harper, and now to spend the New Year's Eve alone? It was as if the rest of the world was against him.

The multi-colored glow of the Christmas tree lights greeted him as he entered into the living room area. The tree was very much still intact, and almost all of the gifts underneath were all gone; only a few remained untouched. Stepping closer to the tree and crouching to examine the remaining gifts, he found that they were actually for him. There were four of them, which is the exact number of gifts that he would expect if he were to count the number of people who would bother to give him a present for the holiday.

_That's right. I slept through Christmas Eve and Day, _he thought with a growing frustration. It was bad enough that he had let Christmas pass by without notice, and now New Year's Eve is about to pass by unnoticed too? The realization gave him an even stronger determination to celebrate the near crossing into the New Year, even if he had to celebrate it alone.

Justin stood from his position and trudged quickly towards the refrigerator. The oven clock was menacingly glaring its time at him; five minutes until midnight. He opened the refrigerator and skimmed through his drink options. There was a bottle or Orange soda, a six-pack of beer, and a pitcher of juiced fruits. His eyes kept switched from one to the other, trying to decide what was worthy of clinking for the struck of midnight. The beer was obviously out of the question, seeing as he was not old enough to drink alcohol. He picked up the pitcher of juiced fruits and popped the top open. The strong smell of celery rose towards him and he had to scrunch his nose in dissatisfaction.

"Yuck."

He replaced the pitcher and started towards the Orange soda, but his hand halted when a loud cheering erupted from outside the balcony doors. Justin's eyes momentarily strayed to the direction of the noise.

His hand kept hovering over the Orange soda for a good minute until, out of nowhere, he felt incredibly brazen and moved his hand towards the beer. He took one and stared at it closely.

"Alright, you," he said to it. "This stays between the two of us."

Justin twisted the bottle cap, and it opened with a hiss. He sniffed it first. With a shrug, he took a short swig and, quicker than expected, he sprayed it out.

"Bleh!" he held it away in disgust. "This tastes like carbonated pee."

He heard the muffled jingling of keys. Justin turned towards the door that led to the hallway area of the apartment building and stared at it anxiously. It couldn't be his parents; her mother had just called him form Times Square. Alex was out of the question; she would surely be with Mason somewhere. Max? That's ridiculous. Max would definitely be with his parents.

He watched as the upper lock turned abruptly, and then the lower lock turned. Justin's breath caught as the door was suddenly, and very roughly, pushed open. His eyes widened as Harper emerged from behind the door, with an uncharacteristically stricken expression.

"You!" yelled Harper. Justin jumped when she slammed the door behind her. "You have some nerve!"

Justin's mouth hung open.

"Do you think you can just fix everything with some mushy gift? It doesn't work that way!" Harper screamed.

"Whoa!" Justin had to duck behind the kitchen island as her purse came sailing his way. He peaked from behind the island before fully emerging again. "Can we back up here?"

Harper glared at him. Her eyes slowly travelled towards the content of Justin's hand. He cringed at her stare.

"Um, it's not what you think," he said as he slowly lowered the beer down onto the counter. "I just tasted it."

Harper heaved a huge breath before addressing him again. "Do you have any idea what I had to go through to actually stand up to you? Do you have any idea how much courage I had to build up to 'get over' you?"

Justin frowned at her.

"You- You! You made me feel bad about myself!" she yelled again as she advanced past the couch. "I worshipped you. I was so into you that I actually started thinking of what our baby's names would be when I was thirteen."

Justin raised a brow and opened his mouth to say something.

"Hush-shh-Shah! That's not creepy at all! It's perfectly normal for girls to make up baby names!"

Justin pressed his lips firmly together and looked warily at her.

"You- you are so mean," said Harper in a lower tone. "Okay, I can understand if you didn't know _everything _about me. But, for God's sake, I'm your sister's best friend. I'm one of _your_ best friends. I'm practically part of your family. For over fifteen years, you didn't even notice me, and I'm supposed to come running to you now that you finally took the time to get to know me? Well _thank you VERY much _for gracing me with your attention!"

Finally shaking himself from his shock, Justin blinked rapidly before stepping around the island. "Harper," he said as calmly as he could despite his shaky voice, with his hands held up in front of him. "Please calm down. Let me explain, okay? Please?"

"Explain what? Explain what a fool I've been? Changing myself for you?" she gestured at herself. "I like to eat! I don't like exercising! In fact, I hate exercising! You made me exercise!"

Justin couldn't help but be confused. "Exercise?"

"Yeah!" she declared as she shook a finger at him. Harper turned every which way until her eyes landed on the couch pillows. She grabbed one and threw it at him. "I went on a diet for you!"

Justin dodged the pillow and rounded the couch to avoid her. Adrenaline soared through him as he forgot about his illness.

"I didn't tell you to go on a diet!" he yelled back, but then a previous event crawled into his mind and he had to cringe at his own stupidity. "Okay, maybe I did, I guess. But I didn't mean to! I'm a guy. Guys do and say stupid things. And, technically, I didn't really say it."

Her eyes softened in a sarcastic gesture. Then she grabbed another pillow and threw it at him. Luckily, he caught it with ease. Justin used it as a shield while she pelted more pillows at him.

"You're. Not. Just. Any. Guy. You're. JUSTIN!" She slouched as she huffed from exhaustion. Her anger was slowly dissipating with the fatigue from travelling at full speed from Times Square, all the way to Waverly Place. "You're- Justin. Not just a guy. Justin. You're supposed to be—better."

Justin lowered the pillow and just looked at her. Closely. She stood facing him in the dark, and he had to strain to see the features of her expression. But the light that blinked and shimmered from the Christmas Tree shaped her form, causing her silhouette to be distinct and refined. It was a dramatic view, almost something surreal, to see her framed by an array of reds and greens that seemed to dance along with the cheering of the outside crowd.

He dropped the pillow to the floor. "I'm sorry," he said simply. "I don't know what else I can say. I'm- sorry."

She heaved a sigh as her glare is replaced with a sudden sadness. Tears threatened to leak when she took a deep breath to try to calm herself.

"I wanted you to know how much you mean to me. And I wasn't sure how to do it, so I thought that if I- if I knew everything about you, then that would be a start," he said. "You- did you like my gift?"

She looked pointedly at him.

"Okay, right. Not the time for that. Got it," he said with both hands held up. "I didn't do that just to boast about it or to prove you wrong in any way at all. I wanted to do it- for myself. I want to know about you, Harper." He took a step closer. "I want to know Harper, _the _Harper that I've stupidly ignored for so long."

Justin kept walking until only the couch seemed to separate him from her. From such a close proximity, he saw, very clearly, the wet streaks on her reddened cheeks that her episode had caused. She was breathing deeply with her eyes casted down, almost seeming to do so to try to restrain herself. The sight made him want to hit himself, knowing that he was the one who had made her the way she was at that very moment.

"Harper, I am so, so sorry for everything I've put you through," he said, almost whispering. "I know nothing I can do will change it but please tell you'll give me another chance. And we don't even have to jump to anything. We can just start over. As friends. And I swear, I'll be the very best guy friend for you."

Harper raised her head to him.

"What do you say? Start over? The right way?"

Silence took over the two of them. Neither moved nor said anything to relieve the tension in the atmosphere. It was only when the cheering from the outside erupted that Justin blinked.

"Ninety-eight! Ninety-seven! Ninety-six!"

Justin turned his head towards the balcony doors. He sighed at the realization that the countdown may finish before he could resolve his relationship with the girl that he had gotten so ill over. When he turned back to Harper, her head had risen up to look directly at him. She was still glaring, but she was crying again too.

"Harper?" asked Justin. "How about it? Start over?"

Suddenly, Harper raised her right hand in the air with her arm stretched at its fullest. She swung with all her might, and her hand reached across the couch that separated her from him, and made a loud "smack" as it made contact with Justin's cheek. His body stumbled back slightly at the force. He placed a hand on his reddened cheek as he looked at her with fear.

"You really hurt me," she whispered. "You know, the worst kind of hurt is knowing that someone you've loved for so long doesn't love you back. You did that. And it really, really hurt me."

Justin looked warily at her; no sign of remorse was on his expression. He knew he deserved it.

"Sixty-five! Sixty-four!"

"Harper," Justin tried again as he stepped towards her again. "Let's start over."

He reached out to prop a hand on the back of the couch and kneeled onto its seat cushions. With him kneeling on the couch, his distance from her was much closer and his height was slightly lower than hers; low enough that he had to look up at her.

"Harper," he whispered; tears were threatening to form in the corner of his eyes. "I don't _not _love you."

His tone was softer, and yet much more alive than when Harper had read those exact words. As she read it, with her own voice, it sounded like a false promise. But with Justin's voice, in the tone that she had dreamt of since she was a young girl, in a situation she never would've predicted to be possible between them, in a setting that aided in his apology; those words

sounded so incredibly sincere.

"Fourthy! Thirty-nine! Thirty-eight!"

Justin reached out to hold her hand. He enclosed a few of her fingers into his, but they remained slack and nonresponsive. Still, he was determined to make it right.

"Harper," said Justin desperately. "I'll do it right this time. I promise. Let's start over."

"Twenty-five! Twenty-four!"

"It'll be like when we first met. Remember that?" he asked. "We used to play a lot together in kindergarten. Remember when we used to try to build castles in the sandbox, but the sand was too dry and we didn't know that we were supposed to add water to make it harder? Remember that?"

"Twenty! Nineteen! Eighteen!"

"Let's start all over again. From the very beginning," Justin squeezed her fingers. He tilted his head to try to look at her, but her eyes seemed to be too focused away from him. "Come on, Harper. Please? We'll start from the beginning and work ourselves up from there. Let's start over. As friends."

Harper finally responded. She looked up at him. Her eyes were puffy and red. "Friends?"

Justin smiled widely at her. "Yeah," he answered. "Friends."

The crowd outside cheered louder. "TEN! NINE! EIGHT!"

Justin looked at her hopefully.

"SEVEN! SIX! FIVE!"

"Harper?"

"FOUR!"

"Harper?"

"THREE!"

Her head started to tilt to the left, then to the right. She shook her head.

"TWO!"

Justin hung his head in disappointment. "Right," he said to himself. "Of course."

"ONE!"

The cheering outside was so loud that it almost felt like they were in the same room. The happiness in their cheers was almost enough to make Justin want to cry.

The muscles on his arm tensed as he got ready to push himself up, consequently slacking the hand that held Harper's fingers. But just as his hand was about to stray away from her, he felt her fingers immediately tighten onto his. He looked up in surprise.

"I don't want to start over," she whispered. "I want to move ahead from this."

Without another word, Harper raised her other hand and placed it onto his shoulder. She leaned down. The heavy feeling inside Justin's chest seemed to flutter away as the noise from outside began to morph into a sweeter tune.

Too exhausted to think further, Justin settled to concentrate on the movement of his lips with hers.


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I do not own Wizards of Waverly Place. No profit is being made from releasing this fiction.

Author's Note: It's not over yet! Lol. I told you guys I was going to give WOWP an ending, didn't I? It can't end that simply.

And I'm so so sorry that it took a while for me to update the story. I took part in an exchange program in France so that's where I've been for these past few months. But I'm back now!

Also, thank you so very much for the reviews. We actually reached over 100 reviews! Let's celebrate! Woot Woot! Wow. I never would've imagined that any of my stories could reach that many reviews. You're all very incredibly awesome.

Let's read on!

**A Familiar Pattern 16**

**by genielou**

Justin slowly awoke to the tiny sound of birds chirping. The light that emanated from the balcony windows indicated the morning time. He groaned at the growing ache on his neck and shoulders; and with a slight turn of his head, he realized that he was still on the couch. And sitting right next to him, with her head leaned against his shoulder, was a dozing redhead.

"Hmm..." she moaned.

He smiled as his eyes softened at the sight of her. Her sleep must be closing to an end.

The events of the previous night quickly returned to him. The shouting, the fighting, the throwing of multiple pillows, and… the kiss. Oh, the kiss. It was overwhelming, but in an incredibly great way. In a matter of a few hours, he and Harper evolved from being childhood friends to being boyfriend and girlfriend.

_Wait, are we boyfriend and girlfriend already? Can I say that? Or are we in a 'dating' stage? Maybe I should ask her, _he thought to himself.

He turned his head towards her, and watched with bliss as her body moved in unison to her breathing. Orange light began to invade the room through the windows and bounced off of her red hair, seeming to blend and shine into a fiery glow. If he squint his eyes, she would almost look other-worldly.

Justin lifted his other hand and stroked her cheek with it. She moaned softly.

"Hey, you," he whispered when the slit of her eyes opened momentarily. "Good morning."

"Hi," she replied, her voice a bit hoarse. "Is it morning already?"

He smiled as he cupped her face and stroked her cheek with his thumb. "Yeah. Unfortunately. We're gonna have to get up soon."

"Hmm, no. I don't want to yet," she said as she let her eyelids droopily close. "I wanna sleep a bit longer."

Justin's arms instinctively acted on their own, both claiming her upper body and pulling her closer to him. "Ditto," he expressed.

They both closed their eyes as their minds slowly relaxed to an encompassing slumber, only to be interrupted by the sound of a throat clearing. Justin momentarily frowned but decided to ignore it. The second time, however, and the speech right after it was not as easy to ignore.

"You two have a lot of explaining to do."

The stern, accented tone of his mother was unmistakable. Both Justin and Harper quickly reacted by opening their eyes and jumping up from the couch, instantly creating a considerable amount of distance between them. They both straightened themselves and, upon concentrating on their audience, realized that the rest of the Russo family, and Mason, were all sitting comfortably on the other seats of the living room; all of them staring at the couple with curious expressions.

Max rose from his seat and started to slowly clap his hands. "Woo-hoo! Yeah! Come on, everyone. Join in!" he said towards the others. His words were met with raised eyebrows. "Oh come now, don't tell me you guys aren't happy for these two. It's about effin time, right? Am I right?" He continued clapping with a big smile.

"Oh, yes! Definitely!" Mason exclaimed as he rose from his seat and started clapping as well.

Alex rolled her eyes. "Yes, well, we're all very happy that these two are together. I guess. Whatever," she said as she, herself, rose from her seat. "But what I want to know is why they're all cuddly and sweet on the couch. Alone. All night long. If I'm not allowed to be alone with Mason in the house, neither should Justin." She stepped towards Justin. "And look here, Justin's not even appropriately dressed. Something _very_ rated R happened here. And I bet it came very close to rated X!"

"Alex!" Harper exclaimed. "Ew."

Justin frowned at Harper.

"No! I mean," Harper blushed. "I didn't mean it that way. It's just—"

"Rated X!"

"Alex." Jerry said, eyeing her sternly. Alex matched his stare with her own; but eventually surrendered with a wide smirk.

"Okay, you got me. I was just kidding," Alex chuckled. She turned to Justin and clapped his back loudly. "Way to go, Justin. As Max said, it's about effin' time."

"Oh no, no, no. You're not getting off that easily," Theresa said as she wagged a finger at him. She turned momentarily to Harper, "dear, I am very happy for you. It really is about time." She turned back towards Justin. "Young man, you know better than to be alone with a girl in the house. Even if that girl is Harper, you should know better. You're grounded."

"Theresa, he's twenty years old," Jerry said, still calmly seated in his seat. "He's too old to be grounded."

"He's still living here, isn't he? He's grounded," she said with finality. "I don't want to hear any buts. You're grounded for a week."

"But, Mom," Justin pleaded. "Harper and I just got together. I was hoping to take her out to a nice dinner tonight."

Harper looked at him with a quizzical expression.

"Well," Justin started, stepping towards Harper and taking a hand in his. "I was gonna ask you later, but I guess now is just as good a time as any."

Harper smiled, and nodded. She turned her attention to Theresa. "Mrs. Russo, this was all my fault. I was the one who came rushing in here in the middle of the night. I knew the rule but I guess I didn't really consider me being alone with Justin to be a violation of that." She shrugged her shoulders and smiled, "until—I guess, last night?"

She involuntarily giggled, and Justin concurrently turned beet red. Alex rolled her eyes while Mason and Max let out a loud, "awww."

"I'm really sorry, Mom," Justin started. "But can't you just let us go out tonight? I promise I'll stay home and clean the house for the rest of the week. But tonight, I'd really like to take Harper out. Please?" He looked at his father. "Dad, help me out here."

Jerry nodded and furrowed his eyebrows at Theresa. "He's an adult, Honey. And today is the first day of the new year." He shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe we should start afresh and just let him off the hook. Just this one time?"

Jerry proceeding to pouting his lips, and Justin and Harper followed suit soonafter. With three puppy-dog expressions, Theresa was outnumbered and became overwhelmed with the sincerity. Finally, she rolled her eyes, shrugged her shoulders, and shook her head in defeat. The others cheered in glee.

"Yay! Thanks, Mom!" Justin cheered as he gave her a big hug.

Alex clapped her hands loudly. "Okay, okay. Now that we have that settled, let's dispurse! Move along, please. Move along," she said as she shooed her parents away with her hands. She gestured at Max as well, but he merely crossed his arms and plopped himself back onto the couch.

"Fine, whatever," she said nonchalantly. "Okay, first thing's first, congrats you two," she gestured at them. "Second, let's double date. I think this is the safest way to keep you two from doing anything stupid and breaking up again, and then taking an entire year to get back together. It's just so tiring so let's do whatever we can to avoid that."

"Alex, this is our first date," Justin protested. "I think both Harper and I will prefer to be alone on this first one. Right, Harper?"

Harper quickly averted her eyes and looked elsewhere. Justin frowned at her.

"Harper," he hissed. "You actually want to double date with them?"

Harper bit her lip. "Um, yes?" she asked. She cringed when Justin rolled his eyes. "I mean, not that I don't think it'd be more special if we were to go on our first date alone. But Alex has a point. Last time we hung out, you ended up calling me fat."

"I didn't call you fat! I didn't even say the word 'fat'."

"Well, the night still ended very awkwardly," said Harper. "It's just one date, Justin. Let's just play safe for this first one? And then the next one will be just the two of us. What do you say?"

Justin furrowed his eyebrows so much that they almost met in the middle. At last, he took a huge breath and smiled at her. "Okay. We'll do it however you want. But."

"But what?" Alex asked sternly.

"I. Get. To plan it."

"Lame!" Alex exclaimed. "Knowing you, you'll have us all spending the night at some boring event like going to a poetry club or playing Bingo."

"I kinda like Bingo."

"Hush, Sweetie. Don't make this worse," she shushed at Mason.

Justin grinned at her. "Relax, Alex. I'll actually pick something that we'll all enjoy. So how about we all get cleaned up for now, since I'm sure none of us have taken a shower yet since yesterday—"

They all automatically lifted their arms and tried to smell their own armpits.

"—and then let's meet back here sometime in the afternoon. How about around 3 o'clock?"

They nodded their approval (Alex nodded with a scowl), and started parting. Mason and Alex started for the door while holding hands, and Max headed towards the kitchen area and straight for the refrigerator.

"I guess I'll be going too," said Harper as she shyly backed her way towards the door. "Bye."

Justin waved a hand at her with a foolish grin, and stared until she was clear out of the door. When he turned around, he was met by the Max's disapproving gaze.

"Dude, you're her guy now," he said as he opened a canned of soda with a loud hiss. "At least give her a hug or something."

Justin mentally scolded himself before running out the door. "I suck at this!" He turned every which way and saw her just a few steps descended from the top of the staircase.

"Harper! Wait!"

Harper stopped and turned. She stared at him curiously. "Is something wrong?"

Justin descended the stairs until he was a mere step above her, extended a hand to her shoulder, and bent down. She stayed absolutely still as he tilted to her right and brushed his lips against her cheek. When he lifted himself away from her, a small smile was gleaming on her face.

"I'll see later," he said.

Harper sighed. "Ye—yeah. Okay."

When Justin returned to the apartment, Max grinned at him and tossed him an orange juice box.

"So big date tonight, eh?" said Max. "What's your plan?"

"Good question." Justin punctured the box with his straw and took a sip. "Whatever it is, I have to make sure that we're always doing something; that there won't be any time in between for any awkward moments between me and Harper."

Max began to peel a banana. "Are worried about that? You guys have known each other forever. It's impossible for there to be any awkward moment."

"Yeah, but it's different now," Justin emphasized. "I'm not sure if I can be the same if I'm alone with her. I'd get so nervous about messing up that I might actually mess something up. I just wanna play it safe. That, and I want to make sure that she sees a different Justin tonight. A sophisticated, yet slightly lose and very fun, but mature and ready-for-a-relationship Justin."

"Riiiiggghhhttt," Max pondered as he took a bite of his banana. "Can I come?"

"If you can bring a date with you, I don't see why not. Would you be able to find a date by tonight?"

"Uh, I'm not sure."

"Then no, you can't come."

Max glared at him as he walked away.

Much later in the afternoon, Harper fidgeted nervously with her dress as she waited in the Wizards' Lair.

"Maybe I should've worn the other dress. This one makes me look fat," she said.

"You look fine, Harper," Alex replied. She propped up her sandaled feet on the coffee table and placed both hands behind her head. "I still don't know why we had to get all dressed up. I only dress up once a month and last night was _it _for this month."

"Technically, darling, last night was part of December so your attire for today would still be valid for your 'once a month' in January." Mason paced across the room and settled himself on the couch next to her. "Either way, you look very lovely. I rather enjoy it when you make an extensive effort on yourself. I look forward to it every once a month, you know, and I'm lucky to see it twice in a row this time."

Alex grinned. "Aww. You say such mushy things without cracking. That's why I love you." She kissed his cheek and at this, he blushed.

Harper observed the display of affections and smiled as well. She wondered when she will be confident enough to behave the same way with Justin.

Just as the thought hit her, the heavy door to the lair opened and Justin walked in with a big smile on his face.

"Hey guys," he greeted them. "Sorry I'm late. Had to get last minute things ready." He clapped his hands together as his eyes quickly gandered through his audience. "Wow, you guys are dressed very nicely. It's a good thing I planned something—uh—some… thing…"

Justin's mouth hung open as his eyes settled on Harper, who had stopped abruptly by the counter full of Wizards items. He examined her with her eyes, causing her to stay absolutely still. His gaze moved up and down, and then up and down again, taking in the entirety of her simple red dress. She stiffened so much from nervousness that the jar of thumb-sized cockroaches very nearby sat unnoticed.

"Um, hi," she was able to get out.

"Hi," repeated Justin. "You look… uh- good. Very—uh… good."

"Thanks," she blushed. Harper quickly gestured to Justin's attire. "You too. You look very nice."

"Yeah, I kno—I mean, thanks!" he blurted out. With a button-up shirt, a brown suit-jacket, and a pair of jeans, Justin was fairly dressed while maintaining a business-casual feel. The rest of his party, however, was dressed as if they were about to attend a high-end play. Harper wore a very classy knee-length red dress, Alex wore a similar dress in black without the usual clutter of jewelry, and Mason wore a suit. Justin immediately began to worry about his plan. "Okay, well, if I consider the way you guys dressed, I'm guessing that you guys definitely assumed our plans wrong. Which is good for me, I guess, because that means that I just proved Alex wrong."

Alex scrunched her nose at him.

"But it's okay. What you guys have on is still appropriate. Somewhat," Justin added. "If you guys are ready, we can go now."

The other three gathered their coats and started heading towards the giant, metal door, but stopped when Justin didn't move from his spot.

"Actually, we're using the portal for today," he told them. Alex was the first to raise her eyebrow at him. "Shall we?"

They didn't have to travel too far, for as soon as they all settled right outside the portal door, the spell that Justin had arranged triggered with a bright, blinding flash of light. Alex cursed loudly as they all had to cover their eyes shut.

"You couldn't have warned us about that?" Alex complained as soon as the light subsided. She glared momentarily at her brother, but her mood suddenly changed as she noticed her surroundings. The smoggy, white smoke that usually surrounded the portal realm is gone, and in its place is a field of very fine, white sand. She looked up and her eyes widened at the sight. Right above them, in a distance that couldn't be more than a few yards up, is what looked like an ocean filled with swimming figures.

"Blimey," Mason whispered in awe.

"Ditto," Harper agreed. She stared with eyes as wide as Alex's. It was absolutely incredible; she had never seen anything like it in her life before. The water seemed to stay hovered as a mass above them, but continuously moved as waves would. People swam here and there, seeming to dance and laugh with no care of the abnormality of their placement in the atmosphere. A young girl swam so low that she was able to stick her hand through to the non-water area. She waved her hand vigorously with a grin on her face, before taking it back in and swimming away.

"Amazing," Harper said repeatedly. She turned when a hand took hers and started pulling her along.

"Come on. You haven't seen anything yet," said Justin.

Justin walked on with Harper in tow as he led them towards what looked like an old, almost-deteriorating shack. A group of teenagers came walking out of the shack caught Harper's attention. She stared curiously as they laughed and teased each other.

"Did you see? That _mer_ was totally into me."

"Yeah, I saw. She was totally into laughing _at_ you!"

Harper raised a brow. "Justin," she whispered cautiously as she pulled on his hand. "I'm kinda nervous about this. Wizards are not supposed to know about me, remember? Where are we? And what's a _mer_?"

Justin smiled reassuringly to her. "Don't worry. Old wizards don't come here often so there's no need to watch out for them." He took both of her hands in his. "And _mer _is short for mermaid. You'll see."

The four of them proceeded towards the shack. Justin went in first while pulling Harper alone, and Alex and Mason followed them in. Justin and Alex approached the place with a blasé expression while both Mason and Harper expressed their ooh's and ah's rather loudly, for as soon as they entered the shack, its size seemed to multiply so much that it became the size of their high school's gym. The polished, marbled surface of the floor completed the high byzantine-styled pillars that looked to be finished with gold and bronze leafing, arranged intricately in floral designs. A blue theme filled the entire area; from blue vases, blue flowers, numerous attendants in blue uniform, and other various blue items that were displayed in what looked like a gift shop.

They approached a counter by the far side of the wall as such, with Alex and Justin nonchalantly admiring their environment, and Harper and Mason looking like obvious tourists.

"Where's the attendant?" Justin wondered outloud as he leaned over the counter and tried to look through the door that led to the backroom.

Alex eyeing a thick rope that hung from a gigantic bell above the counter. She grinned knowingly as she noticed a tiny engraving on its inside that read "ring for service."

"Awesome," she said to herself. She reached out, grabbed the rope enthusiastically, and pulled with all of her might. The bell rocked back and forth and the metal ball within it hit its sides repeatedly with a thunderous kling and klang. The ear-splitting sound caught everyone by surprised; the entire occupancy of the area screamed and yelled as they all covered their ears with both hands and winced. Even Alex did the same.

As soon as the bell calmed, wizards and other creatures that were once walking peacefully around the room glared daggers at the suspect of their misery.

Alex merely shrugged her shoulders and smiled menacingly.

"Welcome to The Blue Lagoon Water Adventure. How may I be of service?"

Justin and Alex stiffened as they both recognized the monotone speech that greeted them.

"You've gotta be kidding me." Alex turned and confirmed her suspicion. "You? You work here?"

"I'm sorry?" The tall, blonde attendant looked at her with uninterested eyes.

"Don't you recognize us?" Justin asked her. "Wizarding School? You gave me information that kept me from getting my powers sucked at Volcano Land."

The attendant's eyes mometarily widened with surprise. "Oh, yes, I remember now," she said while maintaining her monotone speech. "The kids who made me leave work but didn't even buy the t-shirt that I brought."

"Yeeaaahhh, that's us, all right," said Alex. She propped an elbow on the counter and raised an eyebrow. "So whatcha doin' here? Did you finally get canned at Volcano Land? Thought maybe a contrasting job would be more exciting?"

"Yeah, exactly. They said I didn't have good customer service," she leaned forward and widened her eyes. "Can you believe it?"

Alex grimaced.

"But it's okay." The attendant's lip curled to a slight smile, and a feeling of awkwardness began to seep from her. "This is a much _cooler _job, anyway."

Justin frowned when the attendant repeatedly raised both eyebrows.

"Get it?" she asked, the optimistic in her mood barely penetrating the monotone droll of her voice. "_Cooler_? The _current _was just right so I just _jumped right in_ and found myself _immersed_. Get it? Eh? _Immersed?"_

"Kill me," Alex said as she rolled her eyes.

Justin pushed her aside. "Listen, um," he squinted at her name tag. "Jeannine, is it? There's four of us and we would like the generic package."

"Okay, then," Jeannine answered. She turned towards a heavy-looking typewriter that sat relatively unnoticed on the counter. Her fingers worked busily as Justin turned to the rest of his party, smiling at them to assure his control. "Did you make a reservation?"

"Uh, yes. Under Justin. Russo."

"Spell your last name, please."

"R-U-S-S-O."

"Spell your first name, please."

Justin frowned at her. "Uh, okay. J-U-S-T-I-N."

Jeannine typed busily again. With a sudden _ding_ from the typewriter, she lowered her face towards the paper that it held and squinted her eyes. "Mr. Justin. Russo. You have a reservation for this afternoon at 4:00 pm."

"Yes, and we are now here," Justin grinned towards the others.

"Hmm, I see," she replied. Boredom could be mistaken from her tone, but Justin knew otherwise. "I regret to tell you that, unfortunately, you are too early for your reservation. You are free to wait in our lovely Sea-themed lounge- " at this she gestured at a pair of chairs propped against a wall decorated with Little Mermaid characters, "—until the time of your reservation arrives."

Justin glanced at his wrist watch. "It's 3:59. That's one minute away from 4."

"Hence, your earliness. Sir," she told him. "Would you prefer to stay standing."

Alex threw her hands in the air in exasperation.

"Um, Jeannine," Justin started, in an attempt to save the situation. "If you don't mind, why don't we just stand here quietly for, I don't know, thirty seconds? Let's just stand here quietly for thirty seconds."

"As you wish, sir."

A moment of awkward silence commenced as they all waited for the suggested thirty seconds to pass by. Harper dwindled her fingers together as her eyes darted here and there; Mason placed both hands in his pockets and started rocking his feet back and forth; and Alex tapped her shoe loudly onto the marbled floor. Justin sighed loudly as he tried to sing a song in his head to make the time pass. Jeannine, strangely enough, just stared at him; he quickly looked away when he made the mistake of looking her way and unexpectedly caught her eye.

Justin focused his attention on his wristwatch and glared at the skinny hand as it slowly ticked the seconds away. His eyes moved in synchronized unison with it as it passed nine, then ten, then eleven. As soon as it hit the number twelve, Justin looked up and smiled triumphantly.

"Four o'clock," he emphasized. "Justin Russo for four, please."

Jeannine nodded and bent down to retrieve something from behind the counter. She re-emerged with four pairs of rubber flippers and a can of sanitizing spray. Setting them onto the counter top, she then proceeded spraying its insides, with no regard as to the amount of sanitizer that strayed onto her customers.

"Would you like to have floaters too?" she asked Justin.

Justin turned towards the rest of his party, and when no one acknowledged the question, he turned back and shook his head.

"Very well," Jeannine said. She pushed the flippers towards Justin and gestured to her right. "Please make sure to keep your arms to your sides when waiting to ascend. Do not feed the fishes or the mermaids. Do not interact with the sharks or the octopi, and please avoid the sea urchins. They tend to bite."

Justin handed out the flippers to the rest and then they all turned towards where the current of the crowd seemed to be walking towards. With a determined look, Justin proceeded ahead of the others, with Harper in hand.

"Justin, I'm getting really nervous," she whispered to him. Her eyes were darting every which way as she paid close attention to the type of people that cluttered the area. It was only when she looked above that she was able to unconsciously put aside her anxiousness and revel in her awe instead.

The ceiling aggressively rounded towards a centered oculus where the ocean that they saw before was very visible; and from it emanated a blue light that extended all the way down to the ground, continuously moving in conjunction to the ocean's own movements. Its shade shifted every time it moved, sometimes becoming almost solid, but mostly remaining transparent and clear.

Harper vaguely heard Alex's and Mason's expressed excitement towards the thing. Once they reached the line of people that led to the blue light, Harper began to take off her shoes.

Justin smiled at her. "No, Harper. You don't need to do that."

Harper stopped and eyed him curiously. "Um, well, we need to put the flippers on, don't we?"

Justin grinned at her. "You'll see."

The line moved fairly fast, with each group of people seeming to disappear as they step into the light. When there were only a few people left in front of them, Mason took Alex's hand in his and their excitement became more vocal. Justin followed suit as he stretched an arm and wrapped it around Harper's shoulders.

His heart beat loudly as anticipation began to take over. He looked down at the fidgeting redhead in his arm. "Here we go, Harper. Are you ready?"


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I do not own Wizards of Waverly Place. No profit is being made from releasing this fic.

Author's Note: So sorry it took so long to get this out. I had a bit of a writer's block.

Let's Read On!

**A Familiar Pattern 17**

**By genielou**

"Are you ready?"

Harper nodded timidly as she continued to fidget with the flippers that she held tightly in her hands. When they finally reached the front of the line, Harper took a deep breath and squeezed her eyes tight. She felt Justin guide her forward, and then, a cooling sensation took over her entire body.

Unbeknown to any of them, an anxious Max peaked his head over the same counter that Jeannine had attended to them from. She lifted an eyebrow at him as he slowly stood.

"How did it go?" he asked her.

She shrugged her nonchalance. "Fairly well, sir. The older one thinks that they're all getting the general package."

"And, of course, you've arranged the opposite, right?"

Jeannine nodded with an irregular pout.

"Good, good," Max muttered. He eyed at his siblings and their respected partners as they stepped into the blue light. "Okay, I'll start getting ready for my part then."

Just as Max was about to turn towards the backroom, a loud clearing of the throat stopped him. He turned back and was met by an upheld hand at his direction. With an "oh" and an embarrassed expression, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. A twenty dollar bill was passed on to Jeannine's hand and she smiled smugly at the gesture.

"I'll give you more when it's all done," he assured her, and then disappeared into the backroom.

Harper squeezed her eyes even tighter as the coolness that enveloped her began to get colder and colder. When it reached at almost unbearable level, she unconsciously swung both arms onto Justin's torso and buried her face on his chest. She wasn't sure but she thought she heard him chuckle at this.

Her grip on Justin tightened as she felt the ground beneath her feet descend away from her as her body slowly floated upwards. Justin, in return, tightened his grip on hers as well.

"Harper, open your eyes," he urged her.

She did as she was told. Harper opened her eyes to a slight squint and dared a look into her surroundings. What she saw was so filled with awesome that her breath caught, and it took a clearing of her senses to remember the supposed logic of her current reality. The ground from which she remembered herself to be was now several feet beneath her, and the distance was still growing. Looking from side to side, she saw the bustling activity in the lobby of the place, and slightly to her left she saw the line of people waiting for their turn to ascend, just as she was doing. Everything was a shade of ever-changing blue, and blurriness of her vision could only make her presume that she was 'under-water,' although her ability to breath was contradicting this.

She fidgeted in his arms. "Justin, I'm really, really nervous right now."

His chest bounced as he chuckled inwardly. "Don't worry, Harper," he assured her. "I've got you."

Suddenly, at what seemed to be over a hundred feet above the ground, a current of pressure pushed at them in quick pulses, so quick that it didn't allow any of them to gather themselves after each one. Both women squeaked loudly in displeasure; Harper, especially loudly, as she buried her face in Justin's chest again. It seemed to continue on for a long period of time until suddenly, it unexpectedly stopped. The stillness of their floating bodies was much welcomed.

Harper dared to open one eye. "Is it over?" she asked to no one in particular.

Justin loosened his grip on her, placed both hands on her shoulders, and softly pushed her away from himself. "Yeah, now the fun starts."

She eyed his smiling face curiously, trying to understand what he meant, when she heard laughing and giggling behind her. Harper turned and found her best friend swimming in circles with Mason, both at an alarming and impressive speed. It was only when she noticed their feet that she was able to make sense of it all, for Alex's and Mason's feet were now elongated and flatter than they were before. They resembled the flippers that they held earlier; although, as she looked closer at Alex's ankles, the flippers seemed to be molded perfectly onto her skin instead of attached. Harper's experience with the Russo family made logic of this as obviously a magical thing that somehow turned the flippers a part of their body. But just to confirm, she turned back to Justin to confirm his own flippers. Sure enough, he, too, had elongated flippers for feet.

"Wow," she grinned. "I get it. This way, we can swim like we're fishes!"

Her eyes lifted to Justin's face in anticipation for his agreement, but the expression that met her was far from what she had expected. His eyes were wide and his mouth open. The continuous sway of his body, in unison with the water's current, did not disturb his stare on her. He didn't even blink.

"Oh my gosh, Harper!" Alex exclaimed. "You look so cool!"

Harper instinctively turned towards her compliment and frowned at the surprised look that both Mason and Alex seemed to be providing her. Her heart beat heavily in her chest as she thought of what could be causing these reactions. Has she somehow turned into an octopus? Has there been a mistake and she's been transformed into a shrimp?

Slowly, very slowly, her eyes casted down and onto herself. Immediately, she noticed that the red dress that she had been wearing was no longer there, and replacing it was a very milk-white, yet skin-like color. Her eyes widened when she realized that she was looking at her bare skin.

She was naked.

"Oh my gosh!" she screamed frantically as she flung her arms over chest in an attempt to redeem herself. "Justin, how could you!"

She thrashed for a bit, yelling and almost crying, and tried to swim away, only to be pulled back by a grab to her arm.

"Harper!" Alex yelled over her as she shook her. "Harper, relax!"

Harper stopped suddenly and pouted at Alex, her cheeks reddened from panic.

"Harper," Alex said. "Look at yourself. Like, really look at yourself."

Harper searched her eyes for sincerity. She found just that and decided to trust her. Bracing herself once more, she slowly looked down onto herself while keeping both eyes open with much effort. Her eyes widened again, but this time, it was out of awe and excitement. She now saw, more clearly that although she was relatively 'naked,' the anatomical parts of her chest that should determine just this was, in fact, absent. Instead, her chest seemed to look like a latex material that was very similar to her skin color had been stretched over herself to cover her parts. It was still very revealing, but at least her nipples were being hidden (or it just wasn't there anymore, she really wasn't sure).

A sparkle from further below caught her attention. She looked further down and saw a rainbow of glittery fabric covering her legs. Or what would have been her legs if it weren't for the long fish tail that replaced it.

"Alex!" she exclaimed, her eyes darting up to face Alex and then down again at her tail. "I'm a fish!"

Alex grinned. "I think the proper term is mermaid, buddy."

Alex released Harper's arms and let her float uniformly in front of her. In full view, Harper seemed more complete as a fairy tale creature more than ever. Her hair seemed brighter, her skin seemed shinier, and her tale seemed so naturally connected to the rest of her body as the scales beautifully transformed from her below to the slights of her torso. She wiggled her tail giddily to test it out.

"Wow, Justin. I didn't think you had it in you," Alex proclaimed. "You suck for not buying me the same thing, though," she added as she eyed her fins irritably.

Mason swam next to Alex and placed an arm around her shoulders. "You're lovely however you may be, dear. Fish tail or fins, either would suit you."

Alex smiled. "I love how you lie."

Justin swam closer finally, with both eyes still relatively wide. "But, I didn't buy that. I bought the regular package." He gestured at his own legs. "Fins. Just fins."

Alex shrugged. "They probably made a mistake then. Just enjoy it." She turned her attention to Mason and held out her hand. "Shall we?"

Mason took her hand in his. "We shall."

With a soft kick of their legs, Mason and Alex slowly swam away, giggling and pointing as they went. Harper shyly floated closer to Justin and looked at him expectantly. The response she received was a very still and blank stare. Her hands came together and started fidgeting with each other.

"Um, Justin," she started. "What should we do now?"

Justin's eyes came up to meet hers. "Um, yeah, what should we do now?" When her response was a furrow, her suddenly woke up from his reverie. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Harper. I'm just so, um, well—"

"Weirded out?" she completed for him.

He looked at her assuringly. "Actually, I think 'captivated' would describe it better."

She smiled.

"Okay, sorry. I was just very surprised. And you know me when I get surprised. I tend to babble and stare stupidly."

She nodded slightly. Her cheeks started to flush a deep red as he continued staring at her new 'body.'

"Um, Justin," Harper started. "This is our first date. I really hope you're not imagining any, um, fantasies."

"What?" he exclaimed as he looked up with wide eyes. "No! No, of course not."

Justin fought every urge to keep his eyes from even glancing down at her. "Anyway, we should get going with the fun! How's the tail? Do you think you're comfortable enough to swim around with it?"

When Harper wiggled her tail she suddenly floated upwards a great height, more so than she had expected or intended. Justin moved his legs to swim up towards her.

"Alright, we'll just make sure to hold hands so we don't lose each other," he offered. He held out his hand to her, and she was more than delighted to take it. "You ready?" he asked her.

She nodded and smiled. "I think so."

And with that, Justin kicked off and traveled through to smooth water with ease. Harper resisted the urge to swim and instead just allowed her tail to sway with the waves as Justin pulled her along. Not sure of what the under-water world might do to her, and with the constant fear of revealing her non-wizard status, it took a while for her to get used to the feeling of swimming through the clear, blue water. But when she finally did, she was able to swim alongside Justin and was eventually able to relax enough to allow the other participants of the area to mingle with her. Both Justin and she danced and swirled through crowds of all sorts of creatures that floated and swam in the area. She received quite a number of stares and glances, and Justin was always quick to notice and claimed her as this went on. They swirled through rock formations and aquatic plants, making sure to touch and feel most of them.

"This is so awesome!" Harper squealed.

With more ease than before, Harper's body adapted quickly to its new form and began to move as if she were indeed a fish. The water complimented her every movement, and before long she began to swim so fast that she had to pull Justin along.

"Harper!" he yelled as he attempted to pull against her. "Harper! Stop for a sec!"

Harper slowed her swim until the both of them floated aimlessly. Justin heaved deeply with his hands against his waist.

"Harper," he wheezed in between breaths. "Um, wow! Har—ha, Harper, I'm happy you're enjoying yourself, but," more heavy breathing. "My legs are kinda, um, burning."

Harper gazed down at Justin's legs and realization struck her hard. Whereas she was only required the slightest movement of her new tail to swim, Justin's legs had to make much effort in their synchronized paddling.

"Oh my gosh! Justin, I'm so sorry!" Harper smacked herself on the forehead. "I should've known."

"No, no, it's fine," Justin wheezed again, and began to cough hysterically. "Just gimme a minute to recover. Really, I'm fine."

Harper bit her lower lip in embarrassment. _Great, I finally go on my first date with Justin, and I almost kill him in the process, _she thought to herself.

Justin erected himself suddenly. With his chest puffed out and a look of determination on his face, he took her hand in his once again and declared, "Okay! Let's do this!"

Harper pulled him back just as he was about to swim. "Justin, maybe we should just chill somewhere. We don't have to keep swimming."

Justin began to pull her along. "No, Harper. I'm fine. Come on, let's go!"

"No, wait! Justin, hang on," Harper pleaded as she pulled against him. She looked around her, trying to see past the crowds of people that were swimming along the same region. She spotted a protruded rock formation from far below, very close to the surface of the ocean. She gripped Justin's hand and implied him to follow her. "Come on."

Harper swam down and pulled Justin along with her, making sure to maintain a slower speed to make sure that he didn't strain himself from keeping pace. Upon reaching to giant rock, she slowly settled herself on a leveled ground; Justin settled right next to her.

"See," Harper said. "This is nice. I like this. Look at the view."

Harper gestured upwards at the sight. Neither of them had noticed before hand, but the view from below reflected much of what they had seen at their initial entrance of the seemingly tiny shack; only, rather clearer and more extravagant. They could indeed see precisely every swimmer in the venue, ranging from humans to creatures that Harper had never seen before. She gaped admiringly at the mermaids, of which she knew only from fairy tales and animated movies. And, of course, she was one of those at the moment. She couldn't help but feel a tiny sense of belonging as she continued to pretend that her present state was genuine.

She turned to Justin. "Most first dates are usually coordinated with dinner and a movie. This," she gestured upwards, "this is—I," she sighed. "I don't even have words to describe how I feel right now."

Justin raised his eyebrows expectantly. "Is that a good thing?"

"Yes!" Harper grinned and playfully punched his shoulder. "No matter that I hate magic—" 

Justin winced.

"—well, scratch that. Dislike! I dislike magic," she corrected herself. "With a slight passion. But this—I love this!"

Justin smiled to himself. "You're welcome. I do try."

Harper eyed him.

"I know, I know, but I'm permitting some gloating at the moment," he said. "I didn't mess up and I'm happy for it."

"You were afraid you'd mess up?" she asked him. "Mess up what?"

"Our first date," Justin said, and sighed. "I didn't want to mess up any more than I already have. I wanted to make sure that our first date actually goes right. I wanted to make sure that you enjoyed yourself."

The corner of Harper's lip curled to a smirk. "Justin," she started. "We could be attending a drag show and I'd still enjoy myself. As long as it's with you, I don't care all that much where we would have gone."

Justin stared at her. "Huh. Is that a hint for our second date?"

"Ha ha no! Of course not!"

Both Justin and Harper laughed as they continued to converse about useless things. They talked about school, life, hobbies, and beliefs; it was as if they were starting anew with their introductions.

"Really, Justin," Harper finally told him. "Thank you. I like this," she gestured upwards again. "All of it. It's quite… magical."

Justin smirked. "Yeah, that's kind of what I was going for."

Her cheeks reddened in embarrassment. His hand slowly moved to enclose hers. She turned instinctively to meet his suddenly softened gaze.

"I'm really happy right now, Harper," he told her.

She smiled. "Me too."

With a shared understanding, both started to lean towards each other. Justin extended a hand to her shoulder to guide her as he pulled her towards him. When he closed his eyes, she closed her eyes too. With no less than an inch apart, their lips pouted slightly to meet each other's warmth…

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! CREATURES OF ALL AGES! HAVE I GOT A SURPRISE FOR ALL OF YOU!"

Harper jumped at the booming voice. Justin was so startled that he almost fell off of the rock that held them.

"TONIGHT, AND ONLY TONIGHT, BLUE LAGOON IS PROUD TO PRESENT A VERY SPECIAL OFFER THAT IS USUALLY ONLY AVAILABLE ON TUESDAYS AND WEDNESDAYS—"

The voice was uncannily familiar to Justin.

"TONIGHT! DISCO COMES ALIVE! AGAIN!"

Cheers and hollers filled the entire area. Justin felt the ocean ripple on his skin as "Get Down Tonight" by KC and the Sunshine band abruptly echoed with an ear-defying volume. It was then that Justin was able to pinpoint the source of his suspicions. Not too far away, where a rock formation held the usual stage for special events, a tall, brown-haired man wearing a green, sparkly bikini top that accented his tail, wriggled and twirled to the beat of the music.

"YEAH BABY!" he yelled over the microphone that he held.

Justin glared at the stage. "Max!"

"What?" Harper asked. She turned towards the stage, and her eyes widened. "No way."

"Yeah!" Alex cheered as she approached them. "Did you guys see that? Max! Spotlight over here!"

Mason eyed her warily. "Sometimes, I really don't understand you Russo's. It's quite frightening, really."

"AND NOW, IF THE MEN WOULD PLEASE STEP ASIDE. AND LADIES! FRONT AND CENTER PLEASE! IT'S TIME FOR SOME DANCING!"

The crowd went crazy with excitement. The men slowly moved aside and women of all creatures danced wildly to the mildly, each one trying their best to outshine their competitors. Alex was already dancing amongst them, sometimes pushing whoever happens to block her way.

"I SEE ONE YOUNG WOMAN WHO'S NOT JOINING IN. SOMEONE PLEASE ENCOURAGE THIS BEAUTIFUL CREATURE TO PARTICIPATE."

Harper's eyes widened again as she realized that Max was gesturing towards her.

"Oh no," she hid behind Justin. "No, no, please no."

"Come on, pretty lady. It's fun time!

"Wait- Gah! Wait! Hold on a sec!" Harper exclaimed as guys from both sides of her took her arms and led her forward. Justin reached out to try to grab her but the amount of creatures that surrounded her was too much for him to overcome. "No, thank you! NO, THANK YOU!"

"Don't worry, Harper!" Justin yelled as he tried to push himself through the crowd. "I'll get you!"

"COME ONE NOW, LADIES! DON'T BE SHY! I WANT SOME BOOTY-SHAKING OVER HERE! MEN! START APPROACHING THE LADY OF YOUR CHOICE! LADIES! WHOEVER GETS THE MOST REQUESTS WILL WIN COMPLIMENTARY MEAL VOUCHERS TO THE BLUE LAGOON CAFÉ!"

Justin successfully pushed his way through a group of excited male 'creatures' while trying to keep an eye on the direction that Harper was being pulled towards. Just as he was about to finally reach an opening, a gigantic mass of body blocked his way. His eyes slowly went up to its owner and found, to his horror, that it was a female.

"Hey there, cutie," she started; her voice reverberated with a slight gurgle. "Wanna dance?"

Justin couldn't help but cringe a bit when he noticed the multiple tentacles that floated aimlessly from her. _Oh god, _he thought. _ Just what I need, a human-octopus hybrid. _His eyes surveyed her up and down. _A really big human-octopus hybrid._


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I do not own Wizards of Waverly Place. No profit is being made from releasing this fiction story.

Author's Note: So so so sorry it took forever to get this out. School is hell right now. I'm on my last year of college so I've been on overdrive.

And thank you so so much for staying with me for this long. Whenever I get kinda lazy with the writing, I always read the great reviews that everyone leaves and those really encourage me to keep going. Thank you.

Anyway, let's read on!

**A Familiar Pattern 18**

**By genielou**

"Come on, cutie. Dance with me."

Justin tried very hard not to cringe again. He has dated hybrids before but never one that was mostly one thing than the other. And in her case, she was more octopus than she was human. She was large. Very large. The mass of her body was round, and even her tentacles were thick and massive. Her smooth, gray skin was so shiny that one could mistake her to be slimy. Although the most abnormal feature about her were not any of these, but that the only human feature that she had was her head. It was like having someone randomly glue a Barbie head on an octopus doll. Justin had never seen anything like it.

"I'm sorry, Miss. I actually have to go get to my date now."

He began to walk away but a thick tentacle suddenly wrapped itself around his waist, pulled him back, and turned him around to face the very persistent human-octopus female.

"You're dancing with me, hotness."

Justin braced himself as he was pulled, pushed, and twirled along with what he could only guess to be 'dancing.'

"Argh! I have to find my date! Whoa!" Justin turned his head to avoid a kiss. "Harper! Where are you?"

"LOOKS LIKE WE'VE GOT ONE SPECIFIC LADY WHO'S GOT MOST OF THE VOTES! MEN, ARE WE ALL AGREED THAT SHE'S THE FAIREST OF THEM ALL?"

The entire place suddenly became overwhelmingly loud. Men of all creatures yelled and hollered their cheers. Justin tried to see where the majority of the crowd was grinning towards but there were too many people crowded to where the 'fairest' is supposed to be at.

"That's not fair! I got me a partner too!" the octopus yelled. She expressed her jealousy loudly and eccentrically. Justin took advantage of this distraction to push away from her. He swam as fast as his fins could allow him to, and when he was finally far enough away, he proceeded to look for Harper again.

"Harper! Harper!" He yelled, but the entire place was already so full of activity that he could barely hear himself. He felt a hard push and quickly turned in irritation to glare at his assailant.

"Watch it, pal!" said Justin, and immediately felt guilty for his outburst upon realizing who it was.

"Pardon, Justin. I didn't mean to," Mason said with a frown. "It's getting quite extreme in here. I can't find Alex."

"Same with Harper," he shared.

Mason smiled sheepishly at him. "Really? Well, you're the only one. She seems to be the focus of attention, Mate."

Justin looked to where Mason pointed, and his mouth dropped open in surprise. On the stage, somehow, an awkward-looking Harper was smiling and waving at the crowd.

"YOUNG LADY, WHAT IS YOUR NAME?"

Harper frowned as Max held the microphone to her mouth. "Max, you're kidding, right?" she said away from the mic. When Max didn't respond, she rolled her eyes and said through gritted teeth, "HARPER."

"GIVE IT UP FOR HARPER, EVERYONE!"

The entire place boomed with cheers.

"CAN WE ALL AGREE THAT SHE IS INDEED THE FAIREST OF THEM ALL?"

The volume of the crowd was so massive that Justin and Mason had to cover their ears.

"ALRIGHT! NOW, FOR THE BIG SURPRISE. ONE LUCKY YOUNG MAN WILL GET TO HAVE A KISS FROM THIS VERY BEAUTIFUL GIRL! WHO WILL IT BE?"

Justin glared at the stage as another cheer erupted.

"OKAY! NOW EVERYONE HAS A TICKET NUMBER IN THEIR HANDS—" with a snap of Max's fingers, blue tickets appeared in everyone's hands. Justin stared at his ticket with panic-stricken eyes. "HARPER, HERE, WILL BE DRAWING NUMBERS FOR THE WINNERS—" Jeannine from the counter suddenly appears with a bowl of blue balls in her hands, "—AND THE SEQUENCE OF WINNERS WILL DEPEND ON THE PRIZE. ARE YOU GUYS READY?"

The place erupted again.

"Wow," Mason quipped. "I hope I win."

Justin turned to him.

"I—I mean, so that I can give you my ticket and you kiss her. Honest."

"OKAY, NOW, FOR THE FIRST WINNER, YOU GET TO KISS HER HAND!"

Justin watched intensely as Max dipped a hand into the bowl that Jeannine held. Max made a spectacle of mixing the balls within it. Finally, he pulls one out, looks at it, and grins.

"NUMBER 20456, COME ON UP!"

Justin quickly looks at his ticket, and unfortunately, his numbers were not even close. He turns his head when a male voice starts yelling, "Here, here!"

Justin watched in dismay as a very happy-looking teenager swam quickly towards the stage. He could see Harper's discomfort as the teenager took a hand and kissed it lightly, and held on for much longer than preferable.

"ALL RIGHT, KID. GET OFF THE STAGE. NEXT WINNER GETS A HUG!"

Justin's grip on his own ticket became tighter as his anticipation became unbearable.

"EVERYONE READY? OKAY! NUMBER 20504, COME ON UP!"

Justin quickly looked at his ticket, cursed out loud, and began to look around for the winner. This time, it was a fairly handsome-looking merman. A real, shirtless, toned, and handsome merman.

"HOT DAMN! A LOCAL! COME ON UP, FELLAH!"

Harper blushed as the merman settled right next to her with an expectant look on his face.

"Hi," he said in a deep voice. Harper could only blush and smile.

"WELL, COME ON THEN!" Max urged. "WE HAVEN'T GOT ALL DAY."

The merman advance towards Harper and enveloped her in a warm hug. The crowd hooped and hollered as Harper slowly placed both arms around the handsome creature. And much to Justin's annoyance, the hug seemed to last forever.

"OKAY, OKAY, YOU'RE DONE, BUDDY."

"Would you like to dance later?" the merman asked Harper; his voice slightly audible through Max's mic. But before Harper could respond, Max began to push the merman off the stage.

"NOPE, SORRY. FLIRT ON YOUR OWN TIME. NOW FOR THE NEXT WINNER—" he addressed the crowd. "YUP! YOU GUESSED IT! A KISS ON THE CHEEK!"

The crowd erupted once again. Justin's heartbeat began to speed up. Mason merely grinned from ear to ear.

"NUMBEEERRRR—" Max stalled. "NUMBER 30246! COME ON DOWN!"

Again, Justin quickly looked at this ticket, cursed, and looked around for the winner. To his surprise, the loudest cheer came from right next to him.

"I won! I won!" Mason yelled and laughed. "Sorry, mate. It's just on the cheek. It's all right?"

"Well, uhm—" Justin began to say. "I suppose it's okay, but—"

"Cool, thanks!"

Before Justin could say more, Mason kicked off and swam towards the stage. Harper greeted him with a sincere smile as he approached. She welcomed him wholeheartedly with a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"WHOA-HO-HO! DID YOU GUYS SEE THAT? HARPER, HERE, IS PRETTY GENEROUS IF YOU'RE HER TYPE." Harper glared at Max. "ALRIGHT, NOW FOR THE GRAND FINALE! THE PRIZE THAT EVERYONE IS WAITING FOR! A KISS! ON THE LIPS!"

The crowd's volume increased once again.

"THAT'S RIGHT! YOU HEARD ME! THE FINAL, LUCKY WINNER GETS TO LOCK LIPS WITH THE LOVELY HARPER!"

Another thunderous uproar.

"ALRIGHTY THEN, LET'S SEE WHO THE WINNER IS." Max dipped his hand into the bowl again, making extra effort to mix the balls in it. "NUMBER 30989! COME ON DOWN!"

Justin cringed before looking at his ticket, and cursed even louder than before upon seeing the incompatible numbers. He quickly looked around to see who the winner was. Every second that passed felt terribly long and Justin could've sworn that Max must have made everything move slower with magic. Suddenly, a hoarse, heavy breathing comes from behind.

"Oh my god, I won." Justin hears the disbelieving whisper from its owner. Turning, he sees an overweight, older man stare wildly at the ticket in his hands. Justin's heart could've stopped right then and there. Of all sorts of creatures that he could have imagined winning a kiss from his Harper, this fat, wheezing, pimple-covered, old man was possibly the worse.

"I've never won anything," he exclaimed with wild eyes. "I can't believe I—uh."

Justin's eyed widened as he suddenly froze in mid-sentence. He waited a few seconds longer to make sure; yes, definitely, the man was indeed frozen. Icicles started to magically form from his long nose and his skin turned blue with frostbite.

"NUMBER 30989? ANYONE?"

"Sir, are you all right?" Justin asked as he poked the man's shoulder. "Excuse me? Sir?"

"Boo!" Alex emerged her head from behind the overweight man. She held out her wand.

"Hey!" she greeted. Alex snatched the ticket from the older man's frozen fingers and held it out towards Justin. "You'd better claim it before Max picks another ball."

"NUMBER 3-0-9-8-9!"

Justin watched Alex suspiciously. His eyes darted skeptically from her, to the ticket, and then to her again.

"NUMBER 30989! COME ON! 30989!"

"Take it, stupid!" Alex shoved the ticket into Justin's hand. "Or do you want this schlub to slobber all over her instead? Your call."

"OKAY, I GUESS WE'RE PICKING AGAI—"

"Here!" Justin held his ticket up and yelled at the top of his lungs before he was even sure of what he was doing. "I'm the winner!"

Justin barely heard Alex murmur "moron" from behind as he kicked off and swam as fast as he could towards the stage.

"WE-HE-ELL! COME ON OVER HERE BUDDY!"

Max approached Justin as he settled onto the stage. He glanced at Harper just in time to see her staring at him anxiously, and then focused all his attention to his brother, keeping in mind that Max was the one responsible for the awkward situation that he was in.

"YOU LOOK LIKE A SMART, HANDSOME, AND SEEMINGLY CHARISMATIC YOUNG MAN. WHAT IS YOUR NAME?"

Justin first glared at the microphone that Max held towards his mouth, and then at Max himself. Max merely grinned mischievously at him.

"JUSTIN."

"JUSTIN, EVERYONE! THIS HANDSOME MAN'S NAME IS JUSTIN!"

The crowd cheered for no reasonable logic aside from the simple opportunity to cheer.

"CONGRATULATIONS, JUSTIN! YOU'RE KINDA CUTE, YOU KNOW THAT? NOW, OF COURSE, YOU WIN A KISS FROM THE LOVELY AND OH-SO-GORGEOUS HARPER. AND, LOOKING AT YOU, I'M SURE YOU WON'T DISAPPOINT HER," Max faced the crowd. "I MEAN, LOOK AT THE BOD ON THIS GUY. HE LOOKS LIKE A LADYKILLER. MUST HAVE DONE A THING OR TWO AROUND THE BLOCK ALREADY, EH?"

The crowd hollered. And in the midst of it, Alex laughed loudly as Mason shook his head in concern.

"NOW, HARPER. PLEASE COM E HITHER." Max gestured for Harper. She approached slowly and nervously, settling herself very closely next to Justin. "OKAY NOW. KISS! KISS! KISS! KISS!"

The crowd followed along; Alex especially with a rhythmic pump of her fist.

"KISS! KISS! COME ON, GUYS. THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN! KISS!"

Justin turned towards Harper, took her by the shoulders and looked at her anxiously. Her face had reddened considerably.

"Yeah, kiss her! Kiss!" yelled Alex.

"Alex, you're not really going to let them be exposed like this, are you?" asked Mason as his voice almost squeaked in panic.

"What? There's nothing wrong with kissing," Alex reasoned. "It's not like this is their first kiss. Kiss! Kiss!"

"Alex!" Mason pleaded. "This is their first date!"

Alex halted her cheering and looked at him. She had been so caught up with the excitement that she completely neglected this tiny fact. She stomped her foot, causing herself to be momentarily unbalanced in the water, and made a defiant face. "You know, sometimes I hate having a conscience."

Mason smiled and placed an arm around her shoulders. "I know, dear. I know."

Justin mouthed "sorry". Harper shook her head slightly and mouthed, "it's okay," although the embarrassed look on her face said otherwise.

"KISS! NO PECKS! IF IT'S TOO QUICK, YOU GOTTA DO IT AGAIN! KISS!"

"You can't tell me that you don't want to see them smooch," Alex argued.

Mason looked at her sheepishly. "I suppose it would be fairly entertaining. But—"

Alex made a face at him. "Yeah, yeah, it's their first date, blah, blah, blah."

Justin began to lean down, then stopped and took a deep breath. Both he and Harper looked skeptically into the crowd.

"KISS! KISS!"

Suddenly, an idea popped in Alex's head. "Would you settle for just letting them have the perfect kiss in their heads?"

Mason's eyes widened. "Alex," he started in a warning tone as she began to hold up her wand. "Don't you dare-"

"An embarrassing event threatens to overtake these two lovers," Alex said while flicking her wand. "Make their surroundings disappear and give them empty space to hover."

Before Mason could stop her, a bright flash emanates from Alex's wand, momentarily blinding everyone in sight. Justin instinctively covers Harper as they both closed their eyes against the bright light. When they opened their eyes again, everyone and everything was gone. All that was left was the two of them in a complete vastness of space.

"Justin," Harper began to say. "What's going on?"

"I have no idea," Justin looked around him, frowning at the nothingness that surrounded them. There was literally nothing in sight. The hoard of creatures was gone, and so were the underwater surroundings that they were just in. All around them was a black mass of nothing. It sort of reminded Justin of when Alex accidentally vacuumed their entire apartment through a portal hole, leaving nothing but a blank space where their living quarters used to be.

Looking down, Justin suddenly felt ashamed of himself. "Harper," he started. "I know I messed up our first date. I'm really sorry."

Harper furrowed her brows at him. "What are you talking about?" she told him. "I'm having a great time. Well, except when—uhm—guys started crowding me and all of that."

Justin looked down again. "I know, I know. I should've brought you somewhere else. And of course, I should've just insisted that we go alone. Going anywhere with Alex always ends up being weird in the end. And then having Max follow us here and create all this trouble—"

Justin stopped when he felt something press against his lips. And it went as quickly as it came. His eyes widened as Harper slowly released him and moved back to look him in the eyes.

"Justin," Harper insisted. "This is all absolutely great. Just great."

Justin smiled at her. "For the second date, I promise I'll take you somewhere really nice. Much nicer than here."

"And more normal?" joked Harper.

Justin chuckled. "Yes. More normal. And," he continued. "We'll keep it a secret so that Alex and Max can't follow us."

Harper grinned. "Deal."

Justin couldn't help but smile wider as Harper flashed a grin at him. And with the comfort of the isolation that he had been longing to have with her, he bent his head down and slowly closed his eyes. He kissed her softly, and then pressed firmly when he felt her positive response. It was different from the last two kisses that they've had. It wasn't as desperate and emotional as the first, or as quick and surprising as the second. This was more at ease and slow. It was more familiar and rich. The awkwardness that they had once haunted them was now gone, allowing them the calm to move their lips in perfect sync. It was long, much longer than neither had intended. When they finally parted, both were flushed on the cheeks and breathing heavily from their excitement.

"Wow," whispered Harper, her eyes still casted down and staring at his mouth.

"Yeah," Justin chuckled. "Wow."

"WOW! THAT WAS HOT!"

Harper quickly pushed off of Justin. They both looked around and, not seeing anything, frowned deeply.

"I don't understand what's happening here," Justin declared.

"You?" exclaimed Harper. "Think about how much I'm freaking out right now."

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THANK YOU FOR PLAYING! PLEASE ENJOY THE MUSIC AS WE PARTY FOR THE REST OF THE NIGHT!"

An ear-splitting cheer erupted, but Harper and Justin could still see nothing but the black vastness that surrounded them. At his sudden revelation, Justin pulled out his wand and flicked it with a determined wave. With a flash of light, they were suddenly right back where they were, facing an uncontrollable scene of waves, hoots, and hollers. Alex was especially recognizable as she flung her arms around with Mason trying to hide behind her.

Max flung both arms around the two and grinned at them. "You guys are steamy! And you haven't even been dating for that long!"

Justin glared daggers at him.

"You look mad," Max stated. "But I don't care! That's what you get for not letting me come along."

Before Justin could say anything, Max had already freed himself and had moved to Harper's other side to distance himself from his older brother's growing temper.

"LET'S GIVE IT UP FOR JUSTIN AND HARPER!"

Another round of applause.

"AND AS PROMISED, HERE ARE YOUR FREE MEAL VOUCHERS TO THE BLUE LAGOON CAFÉ."

Harper reached out to the pair of tickets that Max presented, but was pushed to the side as a rather pudgy man, who was seemingly shivering and blue on the lips, appeared in between them and snatched the tickets away.

"Mine!" he exclaimed. Then turned to Justin and slapped him hard on the face. "Jerk!"

Justin could only stare in surprise. Alex just very characteristically laughed hysterically from within the crowd.


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: I do not own Wizards of Waverly Place. No profit is being made from releasing this fictional story.

Author's Note: So sorry for taking so long to update! School has been HELL! So! Now I have three weeks of vacation time. Let's see if I can create some damage. And because I don't want to lose any more fans (coz I think a few readers got too tired of waiting for me), I'm going to keep the chapters short but ongoing. Meaning that everytime I finish a complete moment in the story, it is getting uploaded right away so that none of you have to wait too long for an update. With this mind, also recognize that I will be editing at a minimum, just so that we can speed things along. Are you ready?

Let's read on!

**A Familiar Pattern 19**

**By genielou**

Harper groaned loudly at the assault of the alarming bedside clock. Reaching out, she pressed the snooze button firmly and immediately sighed with relief as the loud beeping halted. With intent to retreat her hand to the warmth of her blanket, she moved to place it onto her stomach, only to be reminded of another presence nearby as her hand rested on a large arm instead. She turned to her side and smiled at the sleeping figure that lay besides her, breathing slowly and steadily with his arm still draped onto her mid-section.

What a long and strange journey it has been this past year, as both she and her best friend's eldest brother ascended from mere childhood friends to almost lovers. _Almost_, she thought with haste. It was very important to her that she made that part of their relationship clear. The past year had been nothing but sheer bliss and Justin had been a complete gentleman for the entirety of it; so much of a gentleman, in fact, that he was extensively careful of how they proceeded with each other. With Zeke, Harper had thought herself so happily in love that she welcomed the rushed physical advancement of their relationship; and so she thought herself ready and experienced enough to do the same with Justin. But alas, Justin wanted to take steps slower than her.

"I just don't want to mess this up," he had said that one time they had come very close to becoming physical beings. "When it happens, I want to make sure that it's special. Very, very special."

Harper had formed her own theories about this, with the help of her over-imaginative best friend. The most logical theory would be that Justin really did want to make their first time with each other to be very special. The more complicated theory would be that Justin may want their first time with each other to come competitively close to their actual first times. Or, more specifically, to _her_first time. Of course Justin would know that Zeke was her first. He was, after all, Zeke's former best friend. He must have been the first person that Zeke turned to after that faithful night. Whoever Justin's first was not really Harper's concern, but she did think that maybe Justin desired to be her _first_ instead; and because he wasn't, he at least wanted his first time with her to be better than her actual first time. Or, at least that's what the theory is.

As a compromise with the equal desire to spend more time with each other at very close proximity, Harper and Justin had resorted to literally sleeping together. Nothing more, nothing less. Just sleep, and she was, to a certain extent, content that they had at least gotten so comfortable with each other that being in the same bed for hours whilst respecting each other was enough for her. Almost every night, Justin would flash into her basement room underneath the Russo's restaurant and sleep on her bed. Sometimes, she would fall asleep before he does this and she would awake with slight surprise at the sleeping figure next to her. More than twice had she expressed how ridiculous it was that he would sleep in the basement of his own home instead of his own dormitory, also without letting his family know of his presence. "It must be tiring to flash back and forth almost every day," she had expressed. And at this, his reply is always the same. "Yeah, but it's worth it."

She turns toward her bedside clock.

_5:30 am_

She should wake him. Today is a very special day for the entire Russo family and Justin must take extra care at preparing for it. He had been so anxious the previous night that he had trouble sleeping. She, too, was nervous, but she had faith that Justin, Alex, and Max will all come out somewhat victorious in the competition to determine the Russo family wizard. _Only__one,_she reminded herself. _But__they__'__ll__be__okay.__They__'__ll__be__okay._The tension within the family had been thick so early on. The realization of the Wizard competition had suddenly become very realistic when Max finally became eighteen years old, the legal age for the competition to proceed. Even during his birthday celebration, their interactions had been so awkward. And from then on, when the date had been set, all of them had tried to ignore what will soon happen. But they knew. They all knew. This fated day can either heightened the Russo pride or destroy their ties completely. The three siblings had promised numerously that they would not let the competition get in the way of their familiality; but, really, who truly knows if they can fulfill this promise?

The plan for today has been very tightly timed. Justin is to leave his dormitory at around 7:00 a.m., and his arrival time should be at around 10:00 a.m., give or take depending on the traffic (flashing, even for this important day, has been forbidden by his mother). He, along with his siblings, has been prepped for the competition weeks in advance, so Justin is expected to be more than ready as soon as he arrives. But, for sympathy's sake, he will be allowed an hour of rest time before the Wizarding council will come to fetch the Russo family. Harper, due to the supposed fact that she should be ignorant of the Wizarding World, will have to stay behind to man the SubStation, along with Zeke's volunteered services. So from noon until however many hours it would take for the competition to finish, Harper must control her anxiety by making sandwiches for strangers.

_5:45 am_

_I__should__wake__him__up_, she thought, but as she laid her eyes on him again, her heart melted at the thought of disturbing the peacefulness on his sleeping form. Harper could still remember how, only hours before, the frown that Justin wore was so intense that she feared it would create permanent lines on his forehead. He was so anxious, and there really was nothing she could do about it, other than sit there and hold his hand as he mulled over his tactical plans. A part of her wished that he could just sleep on her bed forever, and not have to worry about anything.

A low beeping sound suddenly began and slowly increased in volume. Harper groaned out loud as she reached for the bedside clock again and pressed firmly to stop its assault. With a huge sigh, she accepted the inevitable and moved to wake the other occupant of her bed. She propped herself up with one elbow and held a hand to Justin's face. She stroked his cheek with her thumb, very softly and slowly, while cooing his name in a low whisper.

"Justin?" she said as her fingers began to play with his hair. "Justin, it's time to wake up."

A low moan escaped his lips. She smiled as she traced the side of his face with her fingers.

"Justin, sweetie, wake up."

His lips pursed slightly in disapproval. "Do I have to?" he whispered in a hoarse voice without opening his eyes.

Harper smiled and responded with a kiss to his forehead. His chest rose in a deep sigh and his lips curled upwards. "One more and I'll get up."

She giggled (and oh how he loved that sound). Harper leaned in once more and planted a tiny kiss on his forehead. She moved her mouth close to his ear and whispered, "now, please wake up."

He opened one eye and kept the other closed. He assessed her as she grinned at him. Harper was clearly much too awake and alert to allow him to catch a few more minutes of sleep. With a sigh of defeat, he opened both eyes and proceeded to sit himself up. He scratched the back of his head roughly as he turned to confirm the time. Harper could tell that the day's upcoming event was already swimming around his head, making his brows furrow and almost meet. She reached out to his hand, grasped it, and squeezed it to convey the reassurance that she herself was not so sure to truly believe. But for this moment, just for now, she wanted to be strong and confident for him. He smiled at her in return.

"Is it too much to ask if you can be the first one I see when I arrive?" he asked, almost guiltily at his childlike request.

She nodded. "I'll make sure to be outside for when your taxi arrives."

Justin's grin was infectious. He leaned over to her, placed a hand behind her neck, and pulled her towards himself. Harper closed her eyes instinctively whilst relaxing her mouth. When their lips met with a soft touch, the stresses that once filled their minds seemed to momentarily disappear. Both exhaled appreciatively at the exchange. It could have lasted longer but, in a mere moment's time, Justin began to release a low chuckle. Harper pulled away and frowned in confusion.

He grinned at her. "Morning breath," he said simply.

Harper's eyes widened at the realization. How could she have forgotten this very simple fact? She had always avoided kissing Justin first thing in the morning just for this very reason. She quickly covered her mouth with both hands as her face reddened in embarrassment.

The humor in Justin's gaze, however, remained uniform. With another low chuckle, he pulled her hands away from her mouth, cupped both sides of her face with his hands, and looked at her with a bright expression. Before she could protest, he leaned over and took her mouth again, hungrier this time, and more passionate. Her breath caught at the sudden display of affection, and felt her heart skip a beat. When he finally released her, she involuntarily let out a huge sigh of satisfaction.

Justin smiled smugly at her. "Finally," he said. "I've been trying to do that for months."

Harper stared at him incredulously. "What? Kiss me?" she asked, confused.

"Yeah, kiss you in the morning," he replied. "Morning kiss."

Her cheeks reddened. _So __he __did __noticed__…_ she thought to herself as she instantly thought of the many ways she had avoided kissing him in the morning in fear of the teasing her morning breath would cause. She now realized, however, that this morning kiss might not be something she'd mind too much, even if there were to be teasing afterwards.

His gaze softened again as he took her hands in his. "I'll be back in a few hours," he declared.

She merely nodded. Her eyes followed his movements closely as he stood from the bed to put his clothes on, first with his jeans and then his shirt. He bent over to pick up his wand from the floor and held it at its proper angle. Finally, he gave her a big smile before flicking his wrist. With an intense flash of bright white light, he disappeared from his spot close to her bed; and just as soon as he had gone, so did Harper's smile disappear from her face. It was replaced with a very worrisome expression. Suddenly, it was she whose brows could almost meet on her forehead.


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: I do not own Wizards of Waverly Place. No Profit is being made from releasing this fiction story.

Author's Note: I'm back! Sorry for the long delay. This was my last semester of college so I got really really busy with things. But now that I've graduated (with a BFA! Suck on that!), I've got a bit more free time than I used to. So aside from applying for jobs, I'll be working on this fic as well.

Also, I originally wanted to finish this story before the ending of WOWP, but now that that's done and over with, I've decided to adjust my plans for the story by a bit. The competition in this fic is coming, but I won't go into detail of it. I thought I should concentrate on Harper and Justin, as opposed to the actual competition. So during the competition, the point of view will be from Harper.

Thank you thank you THANK YOU for sticking with me! I really do appreciate all of you for being so patient.

And, as a side note: to the reviewer JEANNIE, you TOTALLY freaked me out when I saw your name! My name is Jeannie too so I thought "Did I review myself while I was asleep or something?" It was a weirdly hilarious moment.

Thank you all for the encouraging reviews!

Now Let's Read On!

**A Familiar Pattern 20**

**By genielou**

As promised, Harper sat on a bench outside of the Waverly Substation, waiting for Justin to arrive. It was a bright, sunny day, and the temperature was quite warm, a provocation that summer was right around the corner. She lifts a hand to pick up the hair off of the back of her neck as sweat threatened to form into beads. Every now and then, she would crane her neck at any hint of a yellow cab, hoping that it would stop nearby and reveal that her boyfriend had finally arrived.

"Hmm, hmm, hmm," she hummed to herself as she repositioned her legs for the third time in the past five minutes. She was getting restless. Logic had argued with her that she shouldn't commit herself to expect Justin's arrival to be precise, but her anxiousness had won her over, successfully urging her to settle onto the allotted bench right on time. Justin was, of course, thirty minutes past due and has yet to hint his presence.

_This is still less stressful than sitting inside_, she thought to herself; for inside the restaurant, the crowd was at its minimum, forcing the Russo family to merely sit around and wait aimlessly for time to pass by. The tension was at its peak. Even Max was unusually quiet at this time, resolving to sit in a corner whilst twirling a dried up starfish in his hands. Alex was silent as well, and Mason did his best to be supportive by sitting noiselessly with her. The Russo parents, on the other hand, were trying to keep themselves busy by endlessly sanitizing the kitchen. It seemed that in addition to any sort of distraction that the entire family resorted to also required a means of staying away from each other.

Harper turned her head at the sound of doors opening to see Max trudging through. He was wearing his usual mischievous smile, but the lack of sincerity in the raising of his brows gave him away. It was evident that he, too, had been contemplating about the competition.

"Hey, red," greeted Max. Harper smiled in return, admiring how handsome her young companion had grown to be, despite the slightly protruding belly that he just couldn't seem to get rid of. She thought momentarily of how he was beginning to resemble Mr. Russo.

"How are you holding up there, champ?" she asked as he planted himself comfortably next to her; the starfish was still in his hand.

Max sighed. "I think I'm okay," he answered as he resumed twirling the pink sea creature in his hands. "Just- - thinking a lot lately, you know?"

Harper nodded, but remained silent.

"It sure is kind of a depressing day, isn't it?" he continued. "You'd think we'd all be excited about it. We've been waiting for this our entire life, and now we can finally get it over with."

Harper maintained her silence. She was familiar with how the youngest Russo wizard behaved when dealt with a serious situation; and was well aware of the fact that his humor usually only vacates his gleeful disposition at truly rare occasions. Whereas he habitually concluded so many wrong accusations when he was younger (which would explain why he was always saying the strangest things as a child), he was now beginning to analyze and correctly assess his surroundings. It was important to him that she be patient and enable him to voice his thoughts out so that he can _understand _at his own pace.

"Harper, I really hope we stay friends after today."

He said it so softly that she had to strain her ears to hear him.

"Max!" she exclaimed. "Don't be ridiculous! Of course we'll still be friends after this."

A slight smirk escapes his lips. "Yeah, okay," he agreed half-heartedly. "I know that it sounds kind of stupid, you know, thinking that we might not be friends anymore. But- - the thing is- - I mean, if you really think about— "

Max was unable to finish his sentence. His eyes seemed to suddenly glaze over in thought. "I think we've all been thinking about it. That's probably why it's so quiet around here today."

Harper frowned. The possible reality of what he had suggested sent a slight chill down her spine as he attempted to explain himself. If she were to be completely honest, she would probably be able to finish Max's thought for him. But for the moment, to keep the peace within the household, she denied any negative outcomes that could befall any of them.

Before either of them could contemplate on the matter any longer, a taxi slowed near the curb. Harper saw haste shuffling happen within the inside of the cab before the backdoor finally opened to reveal Justin as he climbed out quickly with a duffel bag in hand.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry I'm late!" he exclaimed. "I was trying to decide what to pack and lost track of time."

Despite the growing irritation that Harper was starting to feel just moments ago, her lips curved up to a smile at the sight of her boyfriend. He grabbed her into a hug before addressing his younger brother with a pat on the back.

"How much time do I have?" he asked.

Max looked at his wristwatch. "Our escort should be here in half an hour."

Justin nodded vigorously. "Good, good," he mumbled. "I have some time to freshen up."

Justin walked ahead and almost reached the double doors of the substation when he suddenly stopped. He turns with a frown as he looked at Harper's still form next to Max.

"Aren't you coming with me?"

Harper stared at him for a few seconds before answering. The insecurity that she sometimes felt for her new title amongst the Russo family was slowly rising up in her chest. "Uhm, is it—is it okay?"

The chuckle that came out of Justin's throat coincided with the slight shake of his shoulders. "Why wouldn't it be okay?" He reached out a hand at her. "Come on. We don't have that much time before I have to leave."

Harper shyly stepped forward, but hesitated to take his hand. She had always been a fan of public displays of affection before, but somehow, when it came to Justin and showing her own affection in front of his family, Harper would suddenly come short of confidence. With a huge sigh of impatience, Max looked to the heavens above and bumped her with his butt, so strongly and so unexpectedly that she was practically heaved forward, right into Justin's arms.

"Oops, sorry," Max offered at Harper's stern look. "Muscle spasm."

"On your butt?" Harper asked with a tinge of sarcasm.

Max shrugged. "I'm unique."

The rest of the Russo's were too pre-occupied to notice Justin as he led Harper to their upstairs apartment. Once in his room, Harper made herself comfortable on his neatly-made bed as he proceeded to his closet.

"So," she started. "How are you feeling? Ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be, I suppose," he answered as he pulled a shirt off of its hanger.

"Well, if there's anything I can do to help you relax until you have to leave, just let me know," Harper offered. She chanced a glance at Justin and was taken aback at the sight. Justin was in the process of taking his shirt off, with no evidence of embarrassment whatsoever.

"Thanks, Harper," said Justin. "I appreciate the sentiment."

Harper smiled, almost forgetting that her half-naked boyfriend was spraying body deodorant on himself right in front of her. She forgave herself by making a promise of turning away if he suddenly decided to change his pants as well. The thought placed her under a momentary daydream.

"Uhm, Harper," his voice pulled her out of her stupor. "Help. Uhm—help."

Harper turned to him and saw that he had tangled his arms above his head as he was hastily trying to put his shirt on. She quickly stood from her perch and helped him pull his shirt down. "I know you're nervous, Justin," she offered. "But, really, you'll be just fine. There's no need to be so fidgety about this."

Harper tried to straighten the edge of his shirt as best as she could while Justin tried to fix his collar. The slight distraction that this offered relieved her. As with Max, she didn't quite know how to comfort Justin for what's to come. All she could do is offer her presence for support. She was pulling the edges of his shirt down as she saw his hands encircle hers. Harper looked up, and her heart skipped a beat as their eyes met. He was looking at her with uncertainty, as if he was suddenly plagued with a difficult decision.

"Justin?" asked Harper. Her brows furrowed with worry. Harper opened her mouth to say more but before she could, Justin's lips were suddenly pressing firmly against hers. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to maintain pace with the movement of Justin's lips, but he was moving in such a random hurriedness that she could not respond to him properly. A few more seconds passed before Justin finally pulled away. Harper heaved a huge breath as she sees him cast his eyes down, embarrassment reddening his cheeks.

"I'm sorry," he told her softly. "I'm just so nervous right now, I don't know what to do."

Justin sighed heavily as he squeezed her hands in his.

"I looked at you, and then I looked at your lips, and—I—I don't know." He bit his lower lip. "You always calm me down so I—I thought—"

Harper didn't know what to say. She lowered herself to look at him properly. When she finally caught his eye, his gaze followed hers as she corrected herself. She offered him a reassuring smile to let him continue.

"Harper," he started again. "It's highly inappropriate. I know. And I can't believe I'm being like this. But… it's just that…."

Harper maintained her silence as she softened her gaze. The man she loves had never looked so vulnerable until now, and his declaration of her necessity almost made her feel guiltily elated.

"Is it… is it okay, Harper? If… if…."

Harper gave him a tiny smile. Without another word, Harper lifted a hand to his cheek, stood on her tiptoes, and touched her lips lightly against his. She pulled back slightly, and did it again. For a few seconds, she even allowed her lips to hover closely to his without touching. She continued to offer him tiny butterfly kisses until she felt his hold unclench from her other hand and his shoulder to sag with thoughtless rest. Once his anxiety disappeared, he began to kiss her back softly. Harper and Justin stayed in the room until they heard Theresa's yell, telling them that it was time to go.

The Russo family had already gathered by the kitchen area of the restaurant. All of them looked quite nervous, especially Jerry as he gave instructions to nerve-wracked Zeke who was already wearing an apron and holding a whole lettuce head in hand.

"Oh! Justin!" Jerry exclaimed as Harper and Justin entered the kitchen. "Good. Now we can go."

Harper smiled at Zeke and they both walked towards the other end of the kitchen, fully aware that they are not supposed to be seen by any members of the Wizarding council. Zeke waved enthusiastically as he hollered farewells and good lucks to the Russo's.

"Good luck," Harper said softly as she tried to maintain a supporting front to her family. Justin was the last in line to step through. He glanced at her, mouthed "bye", and began to step forward when Harper suddenly yelled, "Wait!"

Taken aback and fearing that the council might see or hear Harper, Justin quickly pushed the door closed with a panicked look on his face.

"What is it? What's wrong?" he asked.

Harper ran up to him as she quickly pulled at her hair, trying to untangle the thin, pink rubber-band that held the tiny pigtails on her head. Once successful, she placed the rubber-band on Justin's wrist, like a bracelet. He eyed it curiously as she fidgeted with her hands.

"As a good luck," she declared.

Justin smile at his wrist and then at her. He bent down, gave her a quick peck on the cheek, and whispered a slight "thank you." He waited until Harper was a good distance away before re-opening the freezer door. With one last glance at her, he took a deep breath, walked in, and closed the door behind him.

Zeke looked on with uneasiness as Harper pressed her lips firmly together. All they can do now is wait.


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: I do not own Wizards of Waverly Place. No profit is being made by releasing this fictional story.

Author's Note: I have writer's block! Omg this sucks. I'm trying to force my way through it. **so sad**

Let's read on! 

**A Familiar Pattern 21**

**By genielou**

Zeke watched as Harper glanced towards the walk-in freezer for the third time in the last five minutes. The past two days had gone by as such: Zeke and Harper would open and close the Waverly Substation on time, and go through their respective responsibilities through the duration of the restaurant's operation hours. At the same time, both would also spend their time silently worrying over their adopted family, and dwelled in their routines as therapy. Everyday, Zeke would make sandwiches and Harper would maintain the cashier counter and the tables. But on this particular day, the third day since the Russos' departure to the Wizards world, the weather forecast promised and delivered an irregularly gloomy and rainy day so the entirety of Waverly Place, including the Waverly Substation, was completely and utterly deserted of customers. That meant that there was nothing to distract the two companions.

"How do you think they're doing?" Harper asked, more to herself than to Zeke. "I hope they're okay."

Zeke allowed himself a slight glance at the walk-in freezer before frowning in frustration. "When they told me about this, I thought it would only take a few hours," he confided while his hands worked through slicing a tomato in even lengths. "It's been two frickin' days. I can't even imagine what kinds of things they're doing right now."

The furrow on Harper's expression immediately made Zeke regret what he said.

"Oh no. No! Nononono, Harper, I'm sorry—Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean it like that!" he exclaimed in haste.

Harper smiled sadly at him. "No, it's okay," she sighed. "I've been curious about that myself. Well, _obsessing _is more like it, I suppose." She placed a metal bowl on the table and began scooping the sliced tomatoes within it. "When Alex first told me about it years ago, I thought that maybe it would be like taking the finals at school. A few hours and you're done. But, knowing the Wizarding world, expecting the unexpected is just the tip of the ice berg. I should know. I've lived through it half my life."

Zeke chuckled. "I know what you mean. Those few years that Justin let me experience the magic stuff that he goes through were pretty unexpected, alright. And exciting," he grinned. "Sometimes, I almost wished I made friends with Alex instead. That way, I would've been able to experience more stuff."

Harper raised an eyebrow at him. "You're kidding, right?"

"Oh come on," he continued, his hands still slicing through tomatoes. "You mean to tell me that you didn't enjoy all those crazy stuff that you and Alex did? Not even once?"

Harper looked on thoughtfully, trying to remember if there were any instances wherein she enjoyed herself whilst trying to survive Alex's schemes. "Okay, fine. I did enjoy myself quite a bit," she confessed. "But! And trust me on this—the enjoyment was not always worth it. Did you know that she actually made my brain disappear once? Yeah! She ended up transferring my brain into her head. Her brain and my brain were roommates for almost an entire day!"

Zeke's hands abruptly stopped at hearing this. "Seriously? That happened?"

Harper nodded vigorously.

The smile on Zeke's face grew wide with excitement. "That. Is so. Awesome!"

Harper wanted so much to hit some sense into him, but this was instantaneously forgotten as the sound of Zeke's laughter seemed to enlighten the atmosphere in the room. Before she knew it, she had started laughing too.

"And have I told you about the time she dragged me to the undergrounds of the cemetery? I thought I was going to faint from seeing all those ghouls…"

Harper and Zeke laughed and giggled at the many stories that Harper provided. "Oh! And you wouldn't even believe how I found out that she was a wizard…" Time passed by comfortably as she provided the distraction for the both of them, until the door of the walk-in freezer suddenly opened to reveal a rather exasperated Theresa. Her hair was disheveled and the wrinkles at the corner of lips anointed her tiredness; although, the excitement in her eyes could've suggested otherwise.

"Harper! Zeke! It's over!" She exclaimed with exaggerated waves of her arms. "Oh goodness! I thought it would never end, but if finally did! Oh!"

Zeke hurriedly fixed a glass of water and handed it to the overly excited woman. She gladly took a huge gulp before continuing. "Oh, kids, you wouldn't believe how the entire thing went—"

"Who won?" interrupted Harper.

Theresa took another huge gulp of water before answering. "Alex did! Well, technically Justin won, but he admitted that Alex was the rightful winner. Something about going back to help him, blah, blah, blah—"

A tinge of disappointment came down on Harper as she remembered the many times that Justin confided in her of his restless anticipation towards becoming the family wizard. "So… Alex won…"

Theresa downed the rest of her water. "Oh! But here's the kicker! Justin gets to be a wizard too!"

"WHAT?" both Harper and Zeke exclaimed.

"Yes!" Theresa continued while gesturing for Zeke to fill up her glass again. "Professor Crumbs was so impressed with Justin's dedication to his Wizards studies that he offered for Justin to be his successor. And, of course, he can't really be the headmaster of an entire Wizarding school without powers, so Professor Crumbs made it so that he could keep his powers! We have two family Wizards!"

Harper and Zeke couldn't help but join in as Theresa jumped up and down in happiness. They clapped their hands and cheered.

"Wait," Zeke suddenly halted his cheering. "What about Max?"

Harper looked to Zeke, then to Theresa; her own curiosity making her eyebrows furrow deeply.

Theresa merely smiled. "Max is inheriting the restaurant."

Harper and Zeke remained silent.

"He's very excited about it," Theresa continued.

Harper and Zeke both grinned as their enthusiasm peaked a whole new level. The long awaited Family Wizard Competition was finally over, and winners have been announced. More importantly, it sounds as if the entire family was gleefully satisfied with the results. Harper kept clapping her hands while Zeke danced around with Theresa in his arms.

The moment was halted by the re-opening of the walk-in freezer. A very flustered Mason came running out. His eyes immediately zoned in on Harper and Zeke.

"You two have to hide!" he yelled as he grabbed their arms and pushed them out of the kitchen. "The council is coming!"

"What?" Theresa exclaimed.

"Along with many other creatures from the Wizards world!"

Harper tried to compose her growing panic as Mason led them towards the entrance to Harper's basement room. "Wait—why are they coming here?" she asked.

"To celebrate," Mason provided. "They want to celebrate Alex's accomplishment and Justin's promotion, and they want to do it here." He held out his hand towards the door as he looked pleadingly at Harper. "Please hide in there for a bit. I'll come get you when it's safe."

"And when would that be?" Zeke asked, annoyed. "We can't wait here. A party takes hours."

"Waiting for the party to end shouldn't be necessary," Mason reasoned. "When there are enough people here, it should be safe for the two of you to come out. You wouldn't be noticeable in a crowd." He turned to Harper and took her hand in his. "Justin sent me, darling. He is very excited to see you but he's concerned about the council finding out about you. Please. It will probably only take about twenty minutes or so. They are already on their way."

Harper's brows knitted, her irritation at having to constantly hide from the Wizards council and any other sort of magical creature re-surfaced from her many experiences as Alex's best friend. Hesitantly, she nodded in agreement with a tiny smile.

"You're wonderful!" Mason told her as he planted a kiss on her cheek. He held a hand towards the door again, and waited as Harper and Zeke made their way in. As soon as they stepped through the door, Mason shut the door and hurried away.

"I swear, if that guy was just any other regular guy, I wouldn't have let myself get into these kinds of situations," Zeke scoffed as Harper slowly made her way to her bed. "It's the accent. It's hypnotizing, I tell ya."

The level of activity from the floor level of the restaurant increased within a matter of minutes, and both Zeke and Harper could hear it from the basement bedroom. They heard yelling, cheering, and even roaring from the more magical attendees. Soon after, there was also music blaring.

"Wouldn't it be weird if someone walked by the windows and saw what's going on up there?" Zeke inquired.

Harper shrugged. "I wouldn't worry about it. They'd probably think it was a costume party," she answered.

The promised twenty minutes, turned into thirty, then forty; and as the two entertained themselves with the television, the time quickly turned into an hour. Zeke made no distinctive notice to care, but Harper was quite the opposite. She kept turning her gaze towards her bedside clock and the door every few minutes, hoping that the werewolf would keep to his promise of letting them join the celebration. She was anxious to congratulate the Russo's, but she couldn't very well do that unless someone lets them out.

Sighing, Harper turned her attention back to the television and tried to concentrate on the cartoon that Zeke was chuckling at. "Huh. That fat fish has a really big butt," she told herself.

The room suddenly flashed a bright white. Harper blinked rapidly and almost thought she had just imagined it.

"I know, right?" came a reply from behind her. "And the dorky fish has braces? I'm not sure if that's even creative. I mean, fishes don't even have teeth!"

Harper's eyes widened as she slowly turned her head. There, sitting on the bed behind her, was a grinning Alex holding a half-eaten corndog. "But then again, I never really paid attention enough in school to be too sure," she continued. "_Do_ fishes have teeth?"

Harper remained speechless and just stared at her with wide eyes.

Alex frowned. "Yo? Harper?" She waved her hands in front of Harper's eyes. "Ha-lloooo? Earth to Harper? Wizard to Harper? Are you in ther- WHAA!"

Both Alex and Harper fell to the floor as Harper tackled her into a bear hug. She squealed and laughed as Alex tried to wrestle her off. "Yes they do, Alex! Fishes definitely have teeth!" she screamed hysterically

"Weirdo! Get off!" Alex screamed.

As soon as Alex was able to pry Harper off, she was tackled down again by Zeke. "Congratulations!"

"Okay! I'm turning you two into apples if you don't knock it off!" Alex screamed. Harper just laughed as she tackled her down again.

Once the room calmed down, Alex proceeded to briefly summarize the happenings that occurred during the competition. Harper and Zeke listened intently; both of their mouths hung open the entire time.

"So, you're a full wizard now?" asked Zeke. "How is that different from when you were—well, whatever you were before this?"

Alex grinned. "Being a full wizard means I don't have any limitations. More power, and less rules."

Harper looked a little uneasy at the mischievous glint that flashed through Alex's eyes; but, nonetheless, she was still happy for her best friend. "And Justin will be in charge of an entire school?" she asked. "Wow. That's like—wow."

"As expected of Justin, right?" Alex smiled. "Nothing less..."

"Can we go out there yet?" Zeke inquired impatiently. His eyes widened in anticipation.

"Yeah! That's actually why I came down here," said Alex. "Just be careful. There are a lot of people up there. Try not to stand out, okay?"

They made their way to the restaurant, creeping along the walls until they saw a good opening where not too many wizards were crowded in. Harper looked on nervously while trying to keep her expression calm and composed. Zeke, on the other hand, grinned foolishly as his eyes darted around. His breathing heightened to an almost hyperventilating level as his excitement arose.

"Oh my!" he whispered to Harper. "Is that a centaur?"

Harper followed his train of sight. Sure enough, there was a centaur near the entrance of the restaurant. It was then that she was finally able to fully take in the sight of the place. There were indeed many different creatures in the tiny space of the restaurant. She wondered briefly how it was possible to fit so many people in the relatively small venue, but immediately diminished her curiosity as the possibility of magical aid came into mind.

"Where's Justin?" Harper asked.

Alex craned her neck as her eyes scanned the crowd. "Not sure. He should be around here somewhere." Her attention was suddenly drawn to an old wizard gesturing for her to come over. "I'm being summoned. Probably wants to congratulate me." Alex turned to Harper. "You know the drill. Try not to talk to anyone. If you do need to talk—"

"Pretend like I'm a wizard, keep the conversation short, and try to walk away as soon as possible," Harper finished for her. "I know. We've done this a gazillion times before."

"Yeah, well, I'm not worried about you," Alex said. "I'm worried about him."

Harper turned to a still grinning Zeke and sighed. "Don't worry. I'll take care of it."

Harper carefully led Zeke around the party, being extra careful not to catch anyone's attention. One warlock in particular turned a flirtatious eye towards her. She quickly withdrew and snuck away with Zeke in tow before the warlock was able to even smile at her.

"Here," Harper took a cup of pink sludge from a passing dwarf carrying a tray, and handed it to Zeke. "Drink this."

Zeke eyed the drink doubtfully. "What is it?"

Harper bit her lip. "It's like alcohol. Only sweeter." She cringed as she remembered her past incidences with the allotted drink. "Trust me."

It didn't take long before the drink took effect. Zeke began displaying the normal effects of a regular alcoholic beverage, only faster. His speech began to slur, his eyes became slightly unfocused…. And his skin began to turn a deep shade of pink.

"Thish tastes reeaaallllyyy gooooo-" Zeke said to her.

Harper had to stifle a giggle. "You can only drink one cup though. Believe me on that," she advised as she took his cup and set it down on a nearby table. "Okay, I think you sound incoherent enough. Don't you?"

Zeke bobbed his head back and forth.

"Alright, go socialize," Harper pushed him towards a winking sprite. She allowed herself a low chuckle as Zeke began flirting with the short creature.

Harper looked through the crowd, her eyes skimming as she searched for Justin. Her heart beats heightened at the prospect of congratulation. Should she hug him? Should she tackle him as she did Alex? Should she… kiss him? She could barely contain her anticipation when Justin finally came into view. He looked… not healthy, to say the very least. Justin looked a bit worn, tired, but nonetheless smiling widely at his audience. She could barely hear what he was saying, but it sounded like he was retelling his hardships as a Wizard student.

"Why, thank you, thank you. I do try," he said. His cheeks blushed as he was heralded by his tiny fan club.

Harper started walking towards him. She wished he could just spot her and meet her halfway, but he now had his back to her. She bit her lower lip as she inched closer. Only a few more feet and she would be able to extend her arm to him. She reached out, ready to tap a finger to his shoulder, when a head of long, golden, blonde hair blocked her path. Her vision blurred as she recognized the familiar smell that the female emitted.

"Oh, Justin! Don't be so modest! Tell them about your organized flashcards. They're amazing!"

The color on Harper's face drained as the familiar voice triggered jealousy within her. Her eyes analyzed the girl in front of her. Blonde hair, flower-patterned skirt, pale skin, and a hint of vanilla unsuccessfully masking a faint smell of death… Even with her back turned, Harper could identify her anywhere.

_Juliet van Heusen_.

Her stomach turned as uneasiness built up within her. She watched as Juliet placed a hand delicately on Justin's arm and smiled at him. The look on her face signaled comfort, happiness, and physical fluency. The bottom of Harper's lip quivered as she turned and walked away.

The lighting in the restaurant suddenly dimmed as a disco ball appeared atop, seemingly out of nowhere. Cheers erupted as heavily-based music filled the place and the crowd by the center floor started to move. People and creatures started to dance wildly to the beat.

All the way from the corner of the room, Harper kept her eyes concentrated on her beau as he was pulled in all directions by all sorts of females, including the one that caused her current agitation. Of all the people to have appeared at this particular time, why did it have to be her? Harper wished she could just return to her room and go to sleep.

"Hello."

She turned to the owner of the voice. He looked familiar, but she couldn't quite be sure where she had seen him from. Harper smiled politely and turned back to the direction that Justin was at. Apparently, Juliet had won his attention and was now dancing with him. A tiny smirk escaped her lips as she watched him flail his arms in an attempt to show off his 'moves.'

"You're a mortal, aren't you? I can smell it."

Harper's eyes widened as she turned her attention back to him. Her neck reddened as fright arose.

He smiled at her. "Don't worry, I'm not going to turn you in," he smiled sweetly at her. "I was just wondering what a gorgeous being such as yourself is doing in an event like this?"

Harper shifted uneasily as she turned her head to hide her deepening blush.

"You're Harper, right?" he asked. "Don't you recognize me?"

At this, Harper became curious enough to really look at the man in front of her. He was taller than her. He looked to be on the stockier side, very toned and built; evident even with the shirt that he was wearing. His skin was darkly tanned, contrasted by almost-white, blonde hair that fell loosely down to his jaw line. His eyes were crystalline blue; a rarity in mortal eyes, but may be usual for magical creatures.

"I'll take that as a 'no.'" He sighed and held out a hand. "The name's Andaman. But call me Andy."

She shook his hand hesitantly. "Andaman," she whispered. "As in Andaman Islands?"

He laughed heartily at her. "Yes. My parents named me after that. I was born in the Bay of Bengal, but my clan migrated to the west of France soon after. We now reside in the Bay of Biscay."

Harper held a finger to her chin inquisitively, trying hard to remember what she had learned from past geography classes. "Bay of Biscay," she repeated. "So, you live on the more provincial lands of France?"

Again, he laughed heartily. "Adorable," he murmured. "No, ma'am. I live _in _the Bay of Biscay."

Harper pondered this a while longer. _In the Bay of Biscay… In? _That was when she noticed the protruding pattern emerging upwards on his neck. They looked like scars at first, but upon a second glance, she realized that the scars had a shiny gleam to them. As the disco lighting hit him, his scars reflected an almost rainbow-like palette.

"Those," she started, pointing a finger at his neck. "Are those… scales?"

He smiled gently at her. "Yes, Miss Harper," he answered. "I'm a merman."

The revelation hit her like a brick wall. Her mind worked in overdrive as she tried to remember every fairy tale that she'd been told about mermaids and underwater creatures. "But—but," she stammered. "You have legs!"

He nodded. "I usually only wear them on special occasions," he provided as he smiled sheepishly at her.

Harper's eyes widened even more as his smile triggered something in her memory. The way he shyly averted his eyes to the side, his stocky-build, his deep voice, and the fact that he was a merman. _"Would you like to dance later?" _she vaguely remembered.

"You hugged me!" Harper exclaimed. "At the Blue Lagoon—uh, something something."

"The Blue Lagoon Water Adventure," he provided, happy that she finally recognized him.

"I'm sorry we didn't get to dance," she said. "It was pretty chaotic then."

"Well," he said. "I'd still like the chance if you would allow me to."

Harper looked at him hesitantly, not sure if dancing with an extremely handsome merman would be appropriate. Just as she was about to decline his offer, her eyes focused on Justin, who was now gladly dancing to the drawling melody of a slow song with a girl with pointed ears. She turned determinedly at Andy.

"I guess one dance wouldn't do too much harm," she said.

He grinned as he offered his arm to her. "It is a pleasure to finally have this dance with you, Miss Harper."

"Please, just call me Harper," she said as she took hold of his arm and allowed him to escort her to the center of the restaurant. She tried her hardest to maintain a nonchalant exterior but found it hard to do so as he took her hand in his and placed his other hand to her waist. She, in turn, settled her other hand on his arm. She blushed as she felt the hard bulges of his arm muscles.

"That guy that kissed you at the Blue Lagoon," he started. "He's the new headmaster of WizTech, isn't he? The reason for this party?"

She nodded. "Yeah. He's been made into an honorary wizard for it."

"A first in the history of the Wizards World. Very impressive."

She nodded knowingly as her eyes looked into the crowd. Justin was now dancing with a different person… or an angel, seems more like it.

"He is quite a catch," he continued. "But, he is your boyfriend, no?"

She looked up at him with wide eyes. "Um, yes," she answered. But somehow, she felt almost guilty for claiming him.

Andy just smiled softly at her. "I hope he understands completely what he truthfully wants. Because to have someone as beautiful as you is quite a contest to something as being a wizard."

Harper's gaze sharpened. "What—what do you mean?" she asked.

He looked away from her growing glare. "I'm sorry," he said. "That was very intrusive of me. It's really none of my business."

"Well, yes, but," she proceeded, her tone softening. "Please tell me what you meant by 'a contest to being a wizard."

Andy hesitated before looking at her. Sadness flashed briefly in his eyes. "If I remember my facts correctly, there are rules and regulations that address cross-race relationships. One of the strictest is the forbiddance of it. I believe that accounts to the relationship between Wizards and mortals."

Harper took in the information, but, honestly, it was nothing that she hadn't known before. Mr. Russo was an example of that rule; he was forced to surrender his status as the Family Wizard to marry Theresa. Although the prospect of marriage was far from her mind, she had always thought about how Justin would handle the situation if he were to become a Wizard.

"But it may be too early to really consider this?" he offered. "After all, he is only your boyfriend…."

Her eyes searched for him again. Her _boyfriend. _Her _Wizard boyfriend_. They were forbidden. Not allowed. When she finally caught sight of him, he was now chatting with a few official-looking wizards.

"Please don't look like that," Andy said, snapping Harper out of her reverie. "It makes me uneasy to see you look so sad."

Harper looked at him again. His eyes, his nose, his mouth… If it weren't for the fact that he had scales on his neck, he would look almost normal. Almost mortal.

She offered him a tiny smile before diverting the conversation to a lighter topic. She asked him about life as a merman, and he, in turn, asked her about life as a mortal. They continued their light chatter, and Harper actually enjoyed herself as he told her tales of his world, until a tap on his shoulder interrupted them.

"May I cut in?"

Harper smiled at the familiar grin that Max displayed. Andy complied with a nod, turned to Harper, and lightly kissed her hand.

"Until next time, Harper."

A light blush spread on Harper's cheek as she watched him disappear into the crowd. Max's eye brows rose with curiosity.

"Who's that guy?" he asked as he placed his hands on her waist.

Harper just shrugged, and proceeded to congratulate him for his inheritance of the Waverly SubStation. When she looked towards the crowd, it didn't take long to find Justin. He was dancing with Juliet again.


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: I do not own Wizards of Waverly Place. No profit is being made from writing this fic.

Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who has kept up with me thus far. I know it must be frustrating since I don't update regularly. I'm just having a hard time organizing what I would like to do with this story.

As a side note, has anyone noticed how the fanfics now display how many followers and favorites it has? I think this is a fantastic idea! I don't think it really does anything overly important other than boost the author's ego, but that's still a good thing. And, as an author, sometimes I've found that I doubt myself when there aren't that many reviews for my stories. This display of favorites and follows is a great fix for that. An ego boost means more updates and more stories, right? I hope I'm not alone in this.

Btw, it was a total shocker and great glee to me to see that this story has 55 favs and 72 follows to date. I hope this doesn't go down. You guys rock!

Let's read on!

**A Familiar Pattern 22 [draft]**

**By genielou**

"And this will be your office," Professor Crumbs said with a wide wave of his arms. "I apologize for the mess. I've held this position for two hundred years, and things just seemed to accumulate so much."

Justin nodded in agreement as he looked around the incredibly large office; larger than the Waverly SubStation, in fact. Piles of books reached passed Justin's height, papers and folders were stacked on the desk, and shelves overflowed with all sorts of things: from empty test tubes to jars of eyeballs. Justin wasn't sure if he should be impressed at how much was crammed into every nook and cranny of the room, or if he should be scared.

"It _is _rather intimidating, Professor," Justin replied. "But nothing that a few days—or weeks," he winced, "couldn't fix."

"Oh, Justin, please don't call me that. I am no longer a Professor," he told him. "We are of equal merit now. Please feel free to call me by my first name."

"And what would that be, sir?" Justin asked. "I'm sorry. I don't think you've ever disclosed that with me before."

"It's Jeff," Professor Crumbs provided.

Justin eyed him curiously, waiting for the 'just kidding!' remark to come. It never came.

He fought to compose himself before shaking his head in slight defiance. "You're too much of a role model for me to just call you 'Jeff,' sir. How about I call you by your council title?"

"You want to call me 'The Chosen One'?"

Again, Justin waited for the 'just kidding!'. He sighed in defeat as he pleaded, "How about I just call you 'Crumbs'?"

Crumbs shrugged. "If you insist."

He showed Justin around the room, indicating which piles would possibly be useful for future experiments and studies, and which would most likely needed to be trashed. After a few minutes passed, the phone on Crumbs' desk buzzed, and a fuzzy voice from its speaker requested for Crumbs' attention. The old Wizard quickly walked out of the room, leaving Justin freedom to examine the room more objectively.

It has been week since he had been awarded his honorary Wizard status and promoted to become WizTech's new headmaster. Today was the beginning of this transition, and so the professor thought it due to allow Justin time in advance to get him settled into the school before officially starting his job. The room, soon to be Justin's office and studio of practice for well into the rest of his Wizardry career, was almost comically messy.

But Justin tried to look at it positively. On the upside, it looked like he wouldn't have to purchase any new books or supplies any time soon. On the down side, he's going to have to sort through everything in the office thoroughly to ensure that he take advantage of every single thing that Crumbs would be living behind. For example, Justin has already eyed what looked like a very rare Future Telescope (a long telescope that allows its user to view the future of whatever it is pointed at) atop a very tall shelf. The lens was cracked but it looked like nothing that a replacement wouldn't fix.

Crumbs re-entered the office with a bright smile on his face. "Justin, I would like to introduce you to a very special person. This—", he gestured with his hand, "—is Headmistress Minerva of WizTech University in Italy."

He stepped aside to make room as a very tall woman, robed in the thickest, softest-looking fur coat, walked through. Justin's eyes unconsciously widened at her beauty and her height. She had the pale, white skin that was smoothed almost to a shimmer, golden blond hair that was braided and hung loosely to her back, and facial features so sharp that she could be used as a model to describe a mythical goddess. And her height—by Justin's guess, could very well be over seven-feet high. _A Giantress_, he concluded in his mind. Not to be confused by a Giant, a Giantress is a type of Amazonian female indigenous to the southern regions of Europe. They are known for their beauty, their size, and their incredible intellectual conceptions towards all sorts of scientific study. In fact, it had been rumored that they were able to correctly claim that the earth was round centuries before Ancient Greek philosophers even humored the idea of it.

"It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Justin Russo," she said as she bowed her head slightly and held out a delicate hand. Her voice was loud and high-pitched but flowed like a hypnotic melody, and there was an air of arrogance in her poise. Justin had to shake himself before respectfully taking her hand in his and nodding his head in greeting. "I attended your celebration party, but was not able to approach you. Congratulations on becoming a full wizard."

"Thank you," Justin said. "Technically, I'm not a wizard yet. The transfer of powers is not scheduled for at least three more days."

"Well, nevertheless," she dismissed with a wave of her hand. "The Wizard Community is lucky to have you. Jeffrey has told me so much about your accomplishments. He thinks that the likelihood of your earning a position within the council is very high."

Justin shuffled his feet as he blushed. "Oh, well, that's a very generous compliment."

"Nonsense," Headmistress Minerva said with another wave of her hand. "Now, I don't like to dawdle so let's get down to business. I have actually come to ask permission to host a small dinner event on your name. Don't get me wrong, the celebration previously was enjoyable but rather a tad bit overdone. This will be an intimate gathering. You can bring your family and a few close friends. Myself, Jeffrey, and a few council members will also be in attendance."

Justin smiled, gracious but wary at the thought of another celebration with the council. "Headmistress, I am very, very thankful for the offer, but it's really not necessary. I'm just glad that you acknowledge my existence."

She waved a hand with a scoff; the gesture was starting to look funny to Justin as he allowed his eyes to take on an almost Alex-esque practice. "This is a great opportunity for you to further impress the council members."

Justin thought about it; the temptation to advance in anything has always been his weakness. But then he thought about his family and how tired they have been since the Wizard media have been bombarding them with nonstop interviews since the competition. Then he thought of Harper and how he hadn't even been able to say a full sentence to her, let alone hug her or kiss her, since the competition had ended because he had been so busy.

He shook his head gently as a decline. "Thank you, Headmistress. You are most gracious, but it truly is my wish to hold off on any more celebration."

"My dear boy, I don't believe you understand what you are saying," she started sternly. The melody in her voice had slightly faltered, and her tone almost displayed a tenor quality. "To be offered a dining experience with myself is an honor. You _will _permit me. And you _will _attend."

Justin didn't know what to think. A lump formed in his throat and the back of his neck suddenly felt very warm. She looked at him with intensity; her eyes, though they were the pearliest of greens, were so forcefully concentrated on him that he felt a tiny whimper escape his lips. He braved a glance towards Crumbs, and found that Crumbs was giving him a firm, pointed look.

He took a deep breath before answering. "Uhm," he said, his voice higher than it usually is. "I would… love to?"

The intensity in her eyes disappeared and she was once again the magical creature the she had been upon her initial entrance. "Marvelous!" She exclaimed with a clap of her hands. "We will hold it tonight, here at WizTech. The hall will be available and ready?" she said, rather than asked, towards Crumbs.

Crumbs answered with a simple nod.

"Excellent! I believe eight o'clock is a sufficient time," she said. Her smile glinted so magnificently that it was almost eerie. "Now, you will be presented to Wizards of very high positions. I suggest that you choose your date rather carefully. How about that blonde vampire who cheered for you during the competition? What was her name?"

A moment of panic rose in Justin's mind as he remembered Juliet's presence and how he had neglected to address it with Harper. _How the hell did I forget about that?_, he thought to himself. "Well, actually, I would rather just come with my family," he told her.

Again, the usual falsetto of her voice dropped. "My boy, you _must _have a date. And that girl was rather impressionable. Who is she?"

Justin hesitated before answering. "Juliet. Juliet van Heusen."

"Juliet. Oh! Even her name is impressionable!" she exclaimed with a sigh. "She mentioned during the tournament that you two were meant to be together. She is your girlfriend, correct?"

He winced as he remembered that very scene. Juliet, after spending years as a withered old woman, had come back to cheer him on and had claimed for everyone to hear that she had always believed that she and Justin were meant to be together again. He couldn't remember if he had even told her about him and Harper. "Well, you see—"

"Perfect. She will be your date tonight," she interrupted and affirmed. She turned to the door and smiled at Crumbs. "Please make sure that he is on time."

"Of course, Minerva," he said. "He, along with myself, his family, and Juliet, will be there on time."

She smiled again. And although beautiful and presented with proper air, Justin couldn't help but feel scared and intimidated. She chatted with Crumbs some more before both of them bid their farewells, leaving Justin to himself in the office once again. He heaved a huge sigh as he thought about how he would address the situation.

Soon, after much planning while trying to separate piles of items in his new office, Justin had decided to approach Juliet first. He went to her apartment, which was at the same building that Alex used to momentarily live at with Harper. Surprisingly, she had been very understanding. He told her about his relationship with Harper, and how serious he was with her. Juliet simply nodded, smiled, and expressed that she wishes for his happiness. She did, however, have one comment and it was the same comment that a lot of his closer wizard friends had told him before, which was to "be careful not to let the council members know, or else she'll be in danger." He has heard it one too many times these past few days, and it has yet to deter him. And then she questioned, with much apprehension, the role that she would be playing for the night. She was not comfortable with the idea of being his date, but he assured her that there was no choice to it. The headmistress had insisted, and, from what he had experienced during their meeting, there was just no declining her.

His family was the same. They were understanding of the demands of his semi-famous life and had agreed to be present at the dinner party. Max was very excited to attend yet again another party. His father had even agreed, though with much reluctance, to close the Waverly SubStation earlier than usual so that they could be on time. But when he told them about the issue with having to take Juliet as a date, he received disapproving looks from all sides. His parents remained silent but frowned deeply, Max shook his head, and Alex called him a "butthead," and then many more colorful names after that.

"You are the smartest person I know, Justin," Alex started on him, fiercely glaring as she spat each word out. "But, please, _please_ explain to me how any of this makes sense, because I am very lost at the moment."

Justin sighed. "The council members and Headmistress Minerva really took a liking to Juliet. It'll help my career. This dinner party might ensure me at least an interning position with the council in no time."

"Well then, I guess we all have to go along with this, right? After all, you've only spent the past week ignoring your girlfriend while you prostitute yourself to the media."

"Harper is a very rational woman. She'll understand how important this is to me. I'm sure she won't object to tonight's dinner party."

Alex scoffed. "Butthead."

Now he only had to talk to Harper. Hopefully, she would be as understanding as Juliet. Hopefully. She was not due to be done with her school until early evening, so he would have to get ready before he had to talk to her. He didn't like the idea of his having to talk with her while already dressed to go on his 'date,' but there was really no way around it.

By 7:30 pm, his family and Mason were ready and waiting in the lair. Juliet had called and said she was running late but would be over as soon as she could. But Justin didn't worry about that. He was more worried about the short time that he had to talk with Harper. How could he have a proper conversation with her with only twenty minutes to spare before having to head off to WizTech? Maybe he shouldn't tell her? It wasn't the first time that he had concealed a magic-related topic from her. Often enough, he did it to protect her. But no, that's just not proper for tonight. She was his girlfriend, dammit! They've been through so much to just get to the point of actually being together now. She has to know. He has to make her understand that he would never do anything to hurt her. This was simply, and strictly, a strategic move for his career. No more, no less. And she'll understand, right? She must know how far he has fallen for her. True, he had not admitted this to her yet, but she _must _know. She must already know, right?

It was at this thought that Harper finally arrived, first frowning in confusion at the 'closed' sign at the door and the dimmed lights in the restaurant before proceeding inside. She grinned when she saw Justin sitting by the cashier counter.

"Hey, you!" she said, grinning. "I didn't know you'd be here tonight."

"Yup," he said. "I'm here."

He was fidgeting, she noticed. His gaze was unsteady and was anywhere but to her. She approached him slowly. "No interviews or appearances for tonight?" she asked.

He heaved a huge breath. "Uhm, actually, y—yes. I have a dinner party to attend to, and I have to leave in twenty minutes."

"Oh."

She set her bag and portfolio folder on a nearby table. She was close enough now to finally register how fancily he was dressed. It wasn't everyday that her boyfriend wore a black tuxedo.

"So," she started. "I haven't seen or talked to you in a while."

"Yeah, I know," he said, then a momentary silence. He started fidgeting with his hands. "I'm sorry, I've just been really busy." 

"Right, I know. My famous wizard boyfriend: a semi-celebrity."

Harper watched Justin carefully. He kept opening and closing his mouth, as if he was trying to word what he was about to say cautiously. Justin maintained this for a few minutes, whether he knew it or not, and Harper just watched at him. Every minute that passed made the knot that had formed at the pit of her stomach grow.

"Justin," she started. "Is something the matter?"

Justin smiled nervously at her. "What? What makes you think that?"

Harper smiled sadly at him. Something was definitely up. This was the first that she'd laid eyes on him in days, and he was keeping his distance from her. "Well, for one," she started, "I've been standing here for a good five minutes and my boyfriend has yet to offer me a hug. Let alone, a kiss."

"Oh. Oh!" Justin exclaimed with wide eyes. He quickly walked up to her with arms spread wide and attempted to hug her. Harper immediately raised her hand to stop him.

"Justin," she said sternly, her patience almost giving way to her fears. "Whatever it is, please just spit it out. The longer you stand there not saying anything, the more I get anxious."

Justin sighed. She was right. The more he hesitated, the most her mind will probably play with inappropriate ideas of what she needs to tell her. He took a huge breath, and then opened his mouth to do the inevitable. "Harper, tonight, I have to-"

"Hey! Sorry I'm late."

Both Justin and Harper turned towards the door where Juliet stopped abruptly upon seeing them. Her eyes looked from Harper to Justin, and then to Harper again. She took note of the shock becoming slowly apparent in Harper's expression. It took a few seconds for her to decide whether or not she should say anything.

"Hi, Harper," she greeted politely and hesitantly as she further entered the restaurant. "It's nice to see you again. It's been a while."

"Yes," Harper muttered. "A while."

Her eyes took in every inch of her. Juliet looked just as she did before the magic of being vampire was taken away from her and aged her to become hundreds of years old. She was beautiful, magically beautiful. And her beauty was even more enhanced with how she had fixed herself to be presented for the night's event. Harper realized this as soon as she saw her. Her blonde hair had been curled and pinned upwards, with a few strands forming tendrils left astray to the sides of her face. Her black dress flowed freely to her ankles; the thin straps to her shoulders and the plunging neckline accentuated the necklace that she wore, the pendant of which Harper recognized immediately and ignited a sense of jealousy that slowly crept up the back of her neck. It was a tiny heart-shaped locket pendant that Justin had given Juliet as their one-month anniversary gift. Harper should know; she had helped Justin shop for it. She can already guess whose pictures it held.

Then, her mind pieced together the situation in front of her and the logic of their similar codes of attire clicked. She tried hard to mask her growing anger.

Harper turned to Justin slowly, and enunciated her words in almost a whisper. "Are you two going on a date?"

Justin's breath caught. He didn't know how to proceed. He didn't know what he could possibly say to gain even just a little bit of control of her reaction. His gaze drifted to Juliet, who looked every bit as lost as he was. With a slight shrug of her shoulders, she shook her head and made her way to the kitchen. Harper waited until she heard the sound of the walk-in freezer door closing before quickly turning away from Justin. She heaved a breath as she tried to calm herself.

"Harper," Justin started as he moved slowly towards her. "Let me explai-"

"Explain fast," she interrupted as she abruptly turned to him. Her glare was so fierce that Justin had to swallow hard from the sudden build-up of saliva in his throat.

He paused. His mind worked really fast to try to organize what he had to say before he started to speak again. "Headmistress Minerva, a very important wizard, is holding a congratulatory dinner party for me. She insisted that I bring a date. Juliet really made an impression when she met her at the celebration party that was held here. I had no choice. She was very insistent that I bring Juliet along. But this is not a date. It's just, like, a gathering of some sort. Think of it as Juliet and I just hanging out."

"At a very formal event, wherein the both of you are wearing very formal attires, and where the both of you are expected to act like a real couple."

"Yes. Wait—No! No!" he corrected himself, a little too late. "I mean, yeah, we'll be expected to look like we're on a date, but we're not! We won't be. Alex and Mason will be there too. And so will Mom and Dad. And Max. It'll be like a group outing. Sort of."

Harper's lips thinned to a line and her jaw tightened as she forced her next question out. "Did you tell this 'Minerva' that Juliet is _not _your girlfriend?"

Justin opened his mouth to answer her, but closed it again as he couldn't quite get the truth out of himself.

"And I suppose that you expected me to be the understanding girlfriend? To turn my head the other way like this is not a big deal at all?"

"It's _not_ a big deal."

"How is letting _my _boyfriend go on a date with his _ex_-girlfriend not a big deal?"

"Because it's _not _a date. It's a strategic move towards my career. Besides, it's not like we're going to be alone. A bunch of people will be there too."

"Except your real girlfriend." Harper's brows furrowed with frustration as she took a deep breath to regain herself. "She's wearing it."

Justin just looked at her.

"She's wearing the heart locket that you gave her."

Again, Justin stared at her, not quite registering what she was saying. "What heart locket?"

Harper looked up at him sharply as she frowned. "What locket? The locket that you gave her on your anniversary. I helped you shop for it!"

Justin sighed exasperatedly. "Harper. Me and Juliet were, like, years ago. You don't seriously think I remember everything that I ever gave her, do you?"

"Well, then" she scoffed. "It's nice to know that you pay close attention. So if I lose something that you gave me, you wouldn't even notice, huh?"

"Don't do that. Don't twist my words to make it sound bad."

"It _did _sound bad!"

Harper huffed as she crossed her arms to her chest. She glared at him as if she was trying to make him deflate with the power of her mind. She couldn't help it. Everything that had irritated her from the past week has finally gotten the best of her. She could no longer hold them in as her mind became bombarded with the emotions that she had felt from being ignored by Justin. Since the celebration party, everything had started happening so fast for him. Interviews, meetings, and mere appearances were demanded from Justin and the rest of his family. And while everyone had been so busy, Harper was left to herself. She couldn't very well show her face or let her presence be known in the household for the sake of the Russo's. She used school and work to pre-occupy herself, and she tried to be a good sport about everything that was going on. But, deep down, whenever she tried to concentrate on her stitching or sketching, feelings of neglect, anger, and irritation would always try to take over her good natured attitude. Sometimes, those feelings would win over and she found herself poking the needles into her mannequins a little too hard.

Additionally for the past few days, she had started to wonder if this is how life would be like with Justin. Every night before she turned in, her mind would try to picture a future with Justin. And every time she did that, she became depressed. If Justin was just a regular guy, they could build a very normal future together: a two-story house, white picket fence, two kids, and a dog… But Justin is not a regular guy. He never was. As a wizard, he would have to hide her from his friends and co-workers for the rest of their lives. If worse comes to worst, she would have to become a full-time housewife so as to securely conceal her existence from the Wizarding World. She would become his dirty little secret. What of her dreams of becoming a successful fashion designer? Her white picket fence? Her happily ever after?

And now, especially now, that the appearance of Juliet had reminded her of how Justin didn't even look for her during the celebration party; how he had allowed Juliet to hang on to his arm the entire night… Harper has finally reached the peak of her patience.

She gritted her teeth. "Explain the necklace."

"Oh for the love of—" Justin took a deep breath to check himself. "I don't know _why_ she's wearing it. And I very well don't remember giving it to her either. As a matter of fact, I don't remember anything that I ever gave her because she doesn't matter to me anymore. She's just a friend now. _You_ matter. I remember every minute with you because _you _matter."

Harper's lips quivered as she tried to maintain her tough front. She already knew that. She knew that what he was saying was true, but the abruptness of the situation was adamantly winning over her reason. Her jealousy would not waver to it.

"And why are you suddenly being so possessive? I've never done anything to make you doubt me," he continued, his voice relatively louder than he could control. "This dinner is very important. When I get a job in the council, I'm going to have to attend a lot of these dinner parties. And a lot of other women will probably be present. Not to be completely vain, but maybe a few will even hit on me. Do you really think that I would do anything with them? From all the years that you've known me, can you honestly judge me to be _that _kind of guy?"

"You're referring to rhetorical women? We're talking about the now!" she countered, her voice loud enough for the rest of their family to hear from inside of the walk-in freezer. "You're going on a dinner date with your ex-girlfriend of over one year. Right. Now. How could I possibly not be against this?"

"You talk like I'm an excessive flirt! How about you?"

"What about me?"

"Don't play dumb. I saw you talking to some guy a week ago. During the party? Yeah, I saw you. You two looked quite chummy with each other. You couldn't take your eyes off of him."

It took a few seconds of thinking for Harper to realize who he was talking about. She couldn't even think of a single second that Justin was able to take his attention away from his fans to consider her at the time, let alone actually seek her out. But who cares? He ignored her, and now he has the gall to accuse her of being unfaithful? She scoffed as the irony of the thought hit her. "You mean Andy? For your information, he was very nice to me. He kept me company while my _boyfriend _was off being extra familiar with his vampire ex-girlfriend."

"You know it wasn't like that."

"Yeah, of course, I understand. Because I let my ex-boyfriends hang all over me _all the time!"_

A moment of silence passed between them. Ten seconds. Thirty seconds. One minute. Neither moved nor spoke as they stared at each other, both glaring and scrutinizing the other. Another minute passed before Justin sighed heavily.

"I don't understand why you're being like this, Harper," he said, softly.

Harper's stare sharpened, but for a slight millisecond she almost broke down. She was hurt, for sure, that her boyfriend was not seeing the situation the way she was seeing it.

"Justin," she said carefully and almost pleadingly. "Please, please look at this the way I see it. How would you feel if I went out on a date with Zeke? Wouldn't you feel threatened too?"

"No. I wouldn't," he answered quickly, without a second thought. "Because I _trust _you. I know you would never do anything to break that trust."

And Justin's expression shows that he was being sincere. Nevertheless, the idea that he would be spending the night introducing Juliet as his girlfriend irked her. She was uncomfortable with it. Hell, it would even be safe to say that she was angry with it. And the fact that Juliet was wearing the necklace… Harper just couldn't let it go.

"Why was she wearing that necklace?" she wondered out loud, causing Justin to release an exasperated sigh.

"I don't know, okay?" he said sharply. "Maybe she thought it looked nice on her or something. I don't know. I don't care. It doesn't matter. It. Doesn't. Matter!"

She looked at him, really looked at him. She was so caught up with how fast their argument had escalated that she had neglected to truly see him as he was. The tuxedo that he wore... although she had seen him wear his formal clothes several times before, somehow he looked just bit a more handsome than he usually did. For tonight, he was slightly less polished than he would otherwise always allow himself to be. Always was he primped all the way down to the very cuticle of his toes, but for tonight, he nearly looked casual (in his standards, anyway). His tuxedo was rightfully arranged and ironed to a pristine stiffness, which was a tiny contrast to the way he had allowed his hair to be slightly disheveled. It looked as if he had been running his hands over his hair continuously, the way he always does when he is aggravated or nervous. His eyes looked tired, and there were lines and dark shadows, almost undetectable, forming under his eyes. And it looked like he hadn't bothered to do his routine second shaving of the day. Justin didn't like having facial hair so he shaved at least twice a day, sometimes more. The hairs on his jaw line and above his lips weren't long, but it was thick enough to create a dark shadow, as if he had just woken up. All in all, his lack of obsessive pristine-ness made him look... older. And, more manly.

Harper's eyes started to water as she realized how much she had missed him. Only a mere week had passed by since his initial neglect of her, but she still missed him so much. For seven days, Harper had been battling feelings of uneasiness, jealousy, and aggravation over the true realization of her and Justin's possible future, or possible lack thereof.

Justin glanced at the clock.

"Harper," he said. His was voice soft and almost a whisper. "I have to go. We'll finish this when I get back."

He moved forward to try to give her a kiss goodbye, but when he tried, she flinched and stepped backwards. She kept her gaze down, not wanting to meet his eyes for she was afraid that looking at him might trigger her tears to fall.

With a sigh, Justin made his way to the kitchen. "We'll talk later," he said. Again, his voice was soft, and with a tinge of disappointment.

Long after Justin closed the door to the walk-in freezer, Harper was still standing in the middle of the darkened, empty restaurant. With unshed tears, she began to wonder how and when, exactly, her life had started taking rapid turns through such a scary, unexpected road.


	23. Chapter 23

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Wizards of Waverly Place. No profit is being made from releasing this fictional story.

**Author's Note: **Has anyone read the Hunger Games books? I just finished the first one and I must say… it gave me goosebumps! Advice to everyone: Read it! It's a phenomenal book.

And again, thank you for staying with me. If anyone is interested, I found a very touching Harper/Justin video on youtube ( watch?v=NutF0csz4Oo&feature=related). Now I'm usually not into fanvids, but this one was extra sweet so I thought I'd share it.

Also, just a shout out to **Jewel Leigh**: Really? I never checked myself but that does give me such a boost of confidence. No offense to the Justin/Alex pairing fans out there, but it's hard for me to be open-minded with the idea of them doing the naughty when they're supposed to be brother and sister. Yeck.

Let's read on!

**A Familiar Pattern 23**

**By genielou**

Harper twisted herself to try to get a better look at her backside. She reached behind to smooth the crease on her dress, and then twirled to view herself from a different angle. In a few hours, the Transfer of Powers will be held in a grand ballroom filled with hundreds of Wizards and magical creatures. It is to be a highly publicized, formal event complete with tuxedos and ballroom gowns that she and the rest of the Russo family are due to attend. It took Harper an entire day of contemplating to finally settle to wear one of her own creations: a gown that she produced for a class final.

It was a simple gown, but elegant enough to be adaptable in almost most formal affairs. She faced the mirror and ran her hands through the smooth, silky fabric, admiring the way the dress fitted her in just the right places. The strapless dress fitted her torso and hips tightly, until it only slightly whispers at her thighs and flares onto the floor. Four inches of ribbon wrapped around her upper stomach, separating her chest from the rest of her body which, as she intended while creating the piece, allows for the eyes to appreciate the top and bottom movements of the gown independently from each other. And the top that covers her chest has been stiffed and shaped into horizontal mounds to shape her breasts, further accentuating the upper curves that peaked shyly above the fabric. It was a sure A-class design, but what earned her to special recognition to receive an A+ was her decision to further 'Harper-ize' the dress.

The gown would look like any other regular gown if it weren't for her color of choice. At the gown's initial creation, Harper had attempted to dye it into two different colors. She had wanted the top of the dress to be a deep, moss green and the bottom of the dress a pale yellow. Although, because of her lack of dyeing experience, the moss green had bled halfway down into the skirt, causing it to blend with the pale yellow. The result was an almost tie-dye effect, but with only two colors and at a horizontal separation; the upper half of Harper was dark, almost black, moss green, and this color blended very nicely into the yellow as it traveled down to the flare of her gown. It was unconventional for a gown, but so 'new' that her superiors had complimented her nonstop, telling her that she had a real knack for creating strange yet attractive designs.

"A real Belle of the ball," she muttered as she ran her hands passed her hips, wincing when she noticed how sharp her hip bones had become. It wasn't new to her, but she had been trying her hardest to ignore it. The stress of schoolwork had been getting to her; add to that the stress of the past few days made it even worse. She had been neglecting to eat properly, only nibbling on crackers and drinking water whenever she remembered to do so. A few times, she had tried to eat real meals but had found that she never had the appetite for it. And because of that, anything she ate tasted like cardboard. If Justin only knew, he would be so upset by it.

She scoffed. "As if he'd even notice," she said to herself, then immediately felt guilty for thinking ill of Justin. He had been trying to make it up to her for the past few days. Truly, he has. For the past three nights, upon coming home from school, she would find a plastic-wrapped flower on her bed with a card attached to it. The card only had an impression of a red heart on it, but she knew that they had been from Justin. He was still too busy with his interviews and appearances to really spend some proper time with her, but he must have noticed how sad she had been if he was resorting to buying flowers for her. Sure, the doubts were still itching at the back of her mind, but for tonight, she had decided to be as supportive as she could possibly be.

It would be interesting to see how she would do it, though. She had been instructed by Crumbs to strictly keep her distance from the Russo family. Harper was expected to attend because she was part of the family but in terms of her official existence within the ceremony, she was supposed to be absolutely invisible. So she would smile and gaze, and maybe even pray for the evening to go well, but she was to do so at a distance, where no one can realize or recognize her. She was to do it alone. If only Zeke wasn't already previously engaged for the night, this wouldn't be so hard on her.

The thought made her sad once more, causing her to hunch her shoulders and lower her gaze. She looked at herself in the mirror again, and couldn't help but feel like a typical fairy tale heroine, the kind that wishes to be a princess but can't because the entire world is against her. It was enough to make her eyes slightly water.

"Don't be selfish, Harper," she said to herself as she looked at her mirror-self with determination. "You're going for your family. Support them. This is about them, not you."

With a huge sigh, she moved to her cosmetics desk. For the next hour, she concentrated removing the huge curlers on her hair, leaving the wide ringlets of red hair to fall freely to her shoulders. After using a few bobby pins to tame a few stray strands of hair, she moved on to her make-up. Harper figured that if she was going to go stag on this event, she was going to be most beautiful stag there.

She glanced down momentarily from applying her make-up to mix the right combination of face powder. Upon looking up to with a brush near her cheek, she suddenly screamed as her peripheral vision caught the silhouette of a dress floating behind her.

"Please don't kill me! Aaaahhhh!" screamed Harper as she cowered and covered her eyes, waiting for the inevitable. But nothing came. When she dared a peek with one eye, she saw her blonde nemesis dressed just as formally and awkwardly shuffling her feet. Harper quickly stood and straightened to her full height. With a clearing of her throat, she tried to look as composed as possible. "What are _you _doing here?"

Juliet met her gaze cautiously. "I came to talk."

Harper scoffed lightly and turned back to her cosmetics desk. "I don't know about vampires, but humans usually knock first before entering someone's room."

"Yes, I'm aware. I used to be human too," said Juliet, her voice was small and unsure. "And I had meant to, but I didn't want Justin to know that I'm here. So I just flew in through your window instead."

As Harper finalized her mascara, she checked herself once more, turning her face to both sides to make sure that her make-up was even. "Well, what do you want? I'm kinda busy here," she said as she bent down from her seat and began to strap on her heeled sandals.

"I wanted to give you this," Juliet said as she held out a small, black box.

Harper ignored her for a moment, letting the uncomfortable silence pass between them. Finally, with a haughty air, she stood from her seat and accepted the box. When she opened it, her eyes immediately turned into slits. "And what the hell do you mean by giving me this?" she said accusingly as she held up a heart-shaped locket, the very same that she and Justin had argued over for the past three nights. "It isn't enough that you get to spend the limelight with my boyfriend. Now you have to directly shove it in my face?"

With the anger and hostility that Harper was displaying, it was surprising that Juliet was able to keep herself calm and composed. Silently, she took the few steps towards Harper, all the while maintaining a soft expression. She took the necklace from Harper's hand, and cradled the silver heart on her palm. Harper looked at her curiously but kept quiet. Suddenly, without protest from either participant, Juliet closed her fingers into the locket with great force. Her arm shook and the tiny muscles on her bicep hardened as she clenched her hand into a fist. When she opened her hand, the locket was almost unrecognizable. Harper's eyes widened as she stared at the now wrinkled piece of silver metal in Juliet's hand. Tiny shards of glass that had popped out from within were now embedded in the vampire's palm and fingers, forming tiny beads of blood to seep out.

Harper's hostile demeanor immediately disappeared when she saw the blood. "Oh my gosh! Your hand!" she exclaimed, immediately taking Juliet's hand in hers as she tried to brush off the loose shards in her hand. "You're bleeding!"

"It's nothing," Juliet assured her. She took the broken locket into her other hand, shook her injured hand to rid herself of the glass shards, then lifted it to her mouth and licked the entirety of her palm. Harper grimaced at the sight, not sure what to think of it, but just as suddenly sighed in relief as Juliet held out her hand to Harper to let her see the wounds closing. "Vampire saliva. Works faster than Neosporin."

Harper laughed nervously. "That's good to know," she said. She allowed herself to be her usual cheerful person again as she smiled at Juliet. "That locket is… It was…. Why did you do that?"

Juliet took Harper's hand, gently placed the locket on her palm and guided her fingers to enclose it. "In the twenty-eight hundred years that I've been alive, I have never tried to take what is not mine. And I'm not going to start now." Juliet offered her a tiny smile as she squeezed her hand. "Justin told me that you were upset with my wearing this necklace. Please understand that I only wore it to show as evidence that he and I were dating, just to further fuel that 'show' that he was required to display. It meant nothing more than that."

Harper just stared at her, speechless. 'Shame' wasn't even a strong enough word to describe how she was feeling at that moment. "I'm… I'm so…. sorry," she mumbled.

Juliet smiled, wider this time and with more ease. Harper could only stare at her appreciatively as Juliet turned into a bat and flew out of her window. She hoped that Juliet wouldn't think too ill of her for behaving the way she did.

After finishing with her preparation, Harper settled herself carefully on her bed, being extra careful not to wrinkle her gown too much, and watched television. As an extra precautionary step, the family and Crumbs had decided that Harper was to go to the event separately and well after the Russo's and Juliet has gone. With a sigh, she waited patiently for Mason, who was to be her navigating escort through the other dimension. Her stomach started to grumble as the _Shake It Up _theme song came on.

"Don't knock it 'til you rock it…" she sang along. In no time at all, she was on her feet trying to mimic the dance moves on the show. "Bring the lights up! Burst the doors down!" she sang, her voice loud and excited. She was so into the song that she didn't notice another presence in her room.

Harper spun clumsily around and posed as if a camera was on her. When she neared the end of the song, she prepared herself for a big finale. She jumped with arms spread wide; screamed the final "Shake it up!" of the song, and just as suddenly screamed as a face appeared in front of her who was seemingly yelling the song along with her. Her feet fumbled as she landed. She started to fall backwards, but a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist and halted her falling.

"Fantastic improv concert there, Harper. I was quite thrilled to have viewed the majority of it," the cultured accent provided as Mason's familiar face registered in her eyes. Harper squealed as she hugged him fiercely, overjoyed at having such a friendly existence within arm's reach.

"Well, let's see the damage here," said Mason as he held her at arm's length and looked at her entirety. "Spin once please." She complied. "Now vogue." She posed. Mason's eyes softened and his tone gentled as he told her very sincerely, "Absolutely breath-taking."

The trip to the actual place of the ceremony did not take long. Harper had grown accustomed to walking through the other dimension so the white smoke and random doors that led to who-knows-where didn't surprise her anymore. Although, she did pay close attention to her every step and kept a tight hold on Mason's arm, noticing with mirth how they have suddenly become at even height as a result of her heels.

"Here we are," Mason declared as he gestured towards an old Victorian door standing mysteriously alone in front of them. It was attached to a door frame and nothing else. "Are you ready?" he asked her.

She erected herself to full height, gave him a firm nod, and then held her breath as he proceeded to open the door. Immediately, her eyes widened and her mouth gaped as she took in the scene before her.

The place was enormous; a ballroom the size of a football field. Her eyes took in the farther built first, noticing how the towering walls were sparkling white and embellished with massive paintings of what looked like various magical creatures, ranging from mermaids to ghouls, separated by lavishly sculpted Byzantine pillars. Looking up, her mouthed formed an 'o' at the high ceiling that almost glowed from the variety of brightly painted fairies of whose eyes looked as if they were watching the movement below with great amusement. Her gaze followed the line of five gigantic crystal chandeliers, each the size of a house, floating in mid-air and illuminating the entire ballroom. Harper tried to imagine how the venue would look from the outside, but sighed dejectedly as she suspected the role of magic for the grandeur of the space.

Harper examined the place further as she looked around; scanning the areas where it would be safe for her to either walk through or to loiter within. The center held a hardwood, rectangular area where people, and creatures, were already dancing to music that blared through the air. Where the music was coming from, Harper couldn't even fathom. The carpeted floors that surrounded it were covered with tall, circular tables that were only large enough to hold cocktail drinks and small plates of finger foods. At the far wall, a grand staircase that went up almost a hundred feet from the ground led to a platform of three thrones. That, she assumed, was where the actual ceremony would be held.

She jumped slightly as she felt Mason's hand on her elbow. "They're being interviewed somewhere over there," he said as he pointed to the right. "I'm required to join them. You know, for Alex."

He looked at her sadly, conveying the guilt that he felt for having to leave her. Harper merely smiled and kissed his cheek as Mason offered her a final embrace before scurrying off and disappearing into the growing crowd. All alone, Harper hesitantly decided to walk further into the ballroom, carefully surveying anyone or anything who might suspect her of being mortal.

It felt like she had been walking aimlessly for hours while looking around, smiling back whenever she was offered the courtesy, and sometimes even offering a short chat. Harper walked around the entire venue, smiling and pretending to look like she had a purpose. Twice or thrice, she passed by the area where the Russo's were trapped and surrounded by crowds of people, media personnel, and Wizards who looked like they held high positions within the council. The Russo's looking happy; they were laughing and smiling for everyone to see, and everyone present in the crowd cheered them on. They didn't even see Harper, couldn't, if they were even looking for her. There were too many people demanding for their attention.

Harper watched helplessly as Justin placed his arm around Juliet's shoulders. It was just for show, she knew, and Juliet had assured her of the vampire's position when she offered the gesture of destroying the locket. Still, Harper couldn't ignore the irking jealousy that was bombarding the back of her mind. She wasn't even angry anymore, just miserable, disappointed, and desperately clinging to the idea that it wasn't real; that it was all make believe. She watched them flirt and grin at each other, flawlessly pretending that they were indeed a true couple. But when Justin kissed Juliet's cheek, Harper reached her limit. She couldn't watch any longer. With a final look of longing, she walked away and tried to find a secluded place to be alone. Locating an unlocked double glass doors, she pushed it open and stepped out into a huge, marble-floored balcony that overlooked a vast, calm oceanic scene lit by moonlight. She hugged herself as a breeze passed by.

She walked to the edge of the balcony and placed her hands on the cool, marble blocks that separated her from nature. She leaned out with her head held high and gazed onto the crescent moon while listening to the soft lapping of the water on the beach far below. Her mind wandered to her current situation, thinking about how beautiful she had made herself look and how lonely she felt in a room full of so many magical creatures. A soft gasp escaped her throat as she tried to hold the tears that threatened to blur her vision. She remained that way for a good amount of time.

A soft breeze passed through her again, carrying with it a salty, musky scent that was slightly familiar to her senses. The corners of her mouth rose as she heard the slow, heavy footsteps of a companion.

"A too coincidental and befitting picture," a deep, slightly baritone voice reached her ears. "A beautiful, lone princess draped with the soft glow of the Venetian night sky. I am truly much honored to be able to see such a prospect."

She turned slowly, already expecting a welcoming grin from the merman that she had befriended not too long age. He did not disappoint. Andy offered a slight bow before moving closer to her.

"Did you say 'Venetian'?" she asked curiously as she turned towards the ocean again, trying hard to identify any clues that would reveal their current location.

Andy nodded with a smile. "Yup. We are in Venice, the land surrounded by water on all sides."

Harper nodded in acceptance. "I supposed it makes sense. Where else would mortals not pay attention to a magically enhanced palace?"

"Exactly," agreed Andy. "The entire city is already magical up to the neck. Now, my fair lady, may I offer a compliment? And I promise that it is a very friendly compliment, and will not insinuate that I mean to inappropriately flirt with you, against all moral codes regarding one who is already taken."

She giggled. The sound was welcoming to both Harper and Andy. "Please. I would never deny a compliment."

Andy grinned. He closed the distance between them and placed both hands on her shoulder. "You, Harper, look very, very stunning this evening."

The blush that rose to her cheeks only added to intensify her complexion. She smiled mischievously at him. "That sure sounds like a flirtatious line, despite what you claim."

"To each her own," Andy said. "I was actually really hoping that I'd see you tonight. I wanted to make sure that you've received my gifts?"

Harper's brows furrowed. "Gifts?"

Andy grinned sheepishly. "From our last meeting, I got the feeling that you've been a bit… down, maybe. I wanted to cheer you up so I've been dropping off flowers at the restaurant."

Harper's eyes widened in realization. The flowers that she had found for the past three nights on her bed… They weren't from Justin.

"I assumed you knew. Your brother, Max? He assured me that you would receive them."

Harper nodded slowly. She tried hard to hide the hurt from expression as thoughts of Justin plagued her again. "I did. I did receive them," she assured him, then made a mental note to scold Max. "Thank you. They did cheer me up."

Andy did not miss the brief look of uncertainty that passed through her features. "Well, I wanted to give you something tonight too…. As a 'thank you' for dancing with me last time."

Harper sighed. "That's not necessary. I was happy to dance with you."

"Well, nonetheless, I'd still like to give it to you," Andy insisted. He examined her for a bit, looking her up and down as if analyzing her flaws. He pointed to her neck and raised his eyebrows.

She placed a hand to her bare neck and blushed. "I didn't have any real jewelry. It would be kind of lame to come here with the plastic kind."

Andy eyed her curiously. "No jewelry… But you have a boyfriend. Curious."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning… well, I don't know how mortals are, but where I live, men provide their women with many riches. The most common are flowers and pearls."

Harper thought about this. It was true that Justin had never truly given her an expensive gift. Many of the gifts that she received from Justin were mostly keep-sake than materialistic. Like when they went on their first date, he had taken her to a world that she would never have imagined herself to be in. And there was also that time of their first month anniversary. He had declared that he would make her fall in love with him (which was not necessary, really, because she had already beaten him to it), and proceeded to flash them to the courtyard facing the St. Basils Cathedral in Moscow, Russia just in time for the monthly fireworks to go off. No, she did not own any material gifts from Justin, but she did held many unforgettable memories.

She jumped slightly as she was brought back by the touch of Andy's hand on hers.

"Please, allow me," he whispered as he removed her hand from her neck. She couldn't help but notice how he didn't let it go.

Andy caressed her neck with his other hand, sending a shivering sensation down to her chest. She gasped when she felt something icy cold encircle her neck. Looking down, she saw that it was a pearl necklace. It glimmered against her white skin.

"Don't be intimidated. It is made of water. Its life span is a mere two hours."

Harper laughed as she relaxed. A pearl necklace that will disappear in two hours… Only in the magical world.

Andy proceeded to hold up her hand and gently caressed her wrist. Soon, her wrists glowed and a similar-looking pearl bracelet appeared. She smiled at him.

"Thank you," she said. "This is really very nice of you."

"No thank you needed," he told her. He held her gaze trying to convey himself to him, all the while moving to hold both of her hands in his. Surprisingly, she didn't protest. She should have, but, at the moment, she found herself vulnerable. Harper yearned for attention and for pampering. So she let herself be momentarily taken away into the depths of his eyes. If it weren't for past knowledge, one would think that they already belonged to each other.

"By the gods, Harper, I can't believe I've only just been able to meet you recently," he told her, causing her eyebrows to furrow. "I don't think you realize just… how… wonderful I believe you to be."

She smiled. "You really know exactly what to say to raise a girl's confidence," she whispered.

"I didn't say it for the sake of your confidence," said Andy. "I said it to be truthful."

Her reaction was anything but unexpected. A tear rolled down her cheek. Her lips quivered as they turned into a smile. Andy looked at her with evident worry, unsure of what to do.

She took a deep breath to calm her shaking nerves. "You know," she started, "I can't remember the last time that I heard anyone say something like that to me. And that makes me feel really sad."

Andy regarded her with awareness. His chest tightened at the thought of how long she had been keeping this hidden feeling at bay. He closed the gap between and intended to embrace her when a sudden clearing of the throat broke the silence.

"Am I interrupting something?" Justin asked as he emerged from the double doors. His eyes widened when he noticed Harper's sniffing. He glared at Andy. "I don't know who you are but you'd better get the hell away from her."

Andy scoffed as he turned to his accuser, already drawing conclusions as to the reasons for Harper's tears. He started to move towards him when a squeeze to his hand stopped him. Looking down at Harper, Andy was forced to calm himself as she shook her head slightly. His lips thinned to a line before he nodded in defeat. With a last firm squeeze to her hands, he let her go and moved away from her. He walked towards the double doors without looking back to either Justin or Harper. As soon as he was gone, Justin rushed to Harper.

Justin placed both hands on Harper's cheek and lifted her gaze to his. "Harper, what's wrong? Did that guy hurt you?"

Harper shook her head and gave him a smile. It was an awkward smile, but Justin didn't seem to notice. Instead, he just wrapped his arms around her and rested his head on top of hers.

"I've been looking for you," he said. "Juliet told me that she talked to you." He gently pushed away at her shoulders and held her at arm's length. "Are we okay now?"

Harper's brows furrowed as the question of her and Justin being 'okay' filled her mind. Like too many times beforehand, Justin didn't notice, again. Instead, his mind was trying to catch up with his eyes as he took in the sight of her. Harper blushed when she realized that his eyes were thoroughly examining every inch of her.

"Wow," he mumbled.

His sight remained darkened and glazed as he temporarily lifted from his stupor. Losing all control of his moral boundaries, he suddenly enclosed her in an embrace and kissed her fully. She stiffened slightly in surprise, but just as instantly dropped her shoulders and tilted her head more towards him. She indicated no protest as she allowed herself to be immersed in the hunger of his action. For moment, Harper forgot about her doubts and her fears. She reveled in the security of his arms; a moment when words held no equality to exploit and passion.

Justin maintained a close proximity after he released her, breathing heavily as his lips hovered a mere centimeter from hers. He moved his head back only slightly from hers to get a good look at her glassy gaze. "Harper," he whispered as he moved his hands to her hips and she on his shoulders. "I can't even express how happy I am right now. I have everything I've ever wanted in life. I have magic, my dream job, and you. What else could a guy ask for?"

Harper could only offer a smile in reply. The happiness in his tone and the twinkle in his eyes; how could she even think of taking it away from him on that joyous night.

"We'll always be like this," she assured him. "Happy. No more fights from now on, okay? Just happy. Happy, happy, happy."

Justin grinned as he pressed his forehead on hers. "Happy. Happy, happy. Promise."

"Promise."

He pressed his lips onto hers again, but this time, she did not allow herself to revel in the ecstasy of the action. This time, while he closed his eyes and kissed her like there was no tomorrow, she, in return, maintained her awareness while she reacted as automatically as possible. Her mind wandered back to her doubts and her fears. She felt tears well up in the corner of her eyes as she pressed her lips firmer onto his, desperate to hang onto him as if he would disappear from her life at any moment.

The sound of a gasp pierced the air. Harper quickly pushed away from Justin and saw Theresa Russo standing stiffly and blushing profusely by the doors. Harper's own cheeks reddened in embarrassment.

"Hi, guys," Theresa offered as she awkwardly held up a hand to them in greeting. She looked at her son apologetically. "I'm sorry to interrupt, Justin, but the council members are looking for you. They want to prep you for the transfer."

Justin nodded, if not dejectedly. "We'll talk later, okay?" He planted a final kiss to Harper's cheek before releasing her and walking away. A look of pain and longing passed through her features, of which did not go unnoticed.

"Sweetie," said Theresa softly as she advanced towards Harper and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Is something wrong?"

Harper smile awkwardly as she tried to compose herself. "It's nothing, Mrs. Russo," she said to her. "Just stress."

Theresa nodded. "Yes, we've all been under a lot of stress lately. Do you want to talk about it?"

Harper shifted her gaze towards the ocean as she hesitated. She hadn't really talked to anyone about how she had been, nor has she tried. Not even to Alex. She had thought about it, but decided against it, concluding that Alex was busy enough as it was and her lack of objective opinions wouldn't have done Harper much good.

She felt a warm hand on her cheek. Allowing the hand to guide her gaze back to Theresa, Harper smiled sincerely as she saw the concern in her surrogate mother's eyes. A moment more of hesitation passed before she exposed her soul to her. She told her everything: from the information that she gathered from Andy, to her jealousy of Juliet, and to the question of her future. There was no pause in her speech. She kept talking until everything that she had felt was spoken out loud. When she was done, Theresa's lips had thinned to a line as she considered everything that she had been told. And then, to Harper's surprise, Theresa hugged her.

"I never expected that this would happen again in my family," Theresa said into Harper's ear. "I really hoped it wouldn't…. I really hoped…"

Harper pulled away gently. "What do you mean?"

With a huge sigh, Theresa moved away from her and settled herself to the edge of the balcony. She leaned against it as she crossed her arms on her chest. "Have I ever told you about how Mr. Russo lost his powers?"

Harper shook her head. "All I know is that he gave it up to marry you."

"Yes, he gave up his powers," she said, nodding. "But how it happened… It was so painful for everyone…"

Harper stared at her curiously. A lump formed in her throat.

"We kept our relationship from the council for a very long time. It wasn't easy, but we did it. And his family approved of me, especially Kelbo, so they helped us too. But still, it was very hard. Planning a date was like planning for a wedding; every detail, from meeting to leaving, had to be carefully designed. Honestly, even just talking to him over the phone was like _Mission Impossible_." Theresa chuckled, and then turned solemn just as suddenly. "It was all fun and exciting at first. Until I got pregnant…"

"Justin," Harper murmured.

Theresa nodded. "Yup. Justin. Suddenly, it wasn't all fun anymore. Things became serious. We couldn't just live for the moment. We had to seriously think about our future. We had to consider what we really wanted."

Harper listened to her intently. A feeling of familiarity rose in her chest, and she couldn't help but picture herself being in Theresa's shoes as she told her tale.

"We had many discussions about marriage. He wanted to get married so badly, but he wasn't allowed to. And I didn't want to agree to it either. It was, like, illegal for Wizards to marry a mortal, and I loved Jerry too much to get him into trouble. There was no alternative to it, really," she sighed heavily. "There was no choice. The only logical, and documented answer as was written in one of those council books, was to leave me. And Justin. The idea of a wizard forming a union with a mortal was… unheard of. It had never been done before. And the council preferred that it stayed that way."

"You mean," Harper started with a deep frown, "Mr. Russo was the very first wizard to give up his powers for a mortal?"

Theresa smiled sadly at her. "Yes. He was the first to do it. The very first."

Harper's breath caught as she made sense of what she had just been told. She had always known about Mr. and Mrs. Russo's story, but not this part of it. She wondered if their children knew about it.

"When I found out, I was so, so upset with him," Theresa continued. "I love him, Harper. I love him so much. So much so, that I even humored the idea of not being with him. Becoming the Russo family wizard was everything to him. It was his biggest accomplishment. He loved magic. He loved using magic. It was a big part of his life. I didn't think he could live without it. And then, when I found out that he gave it up for me… I felt so guilty."

Theresa turned to her with a sincere smile. "He gave up his entire world. For me. And I didn't want that. I just wanted him to be happy."

"But you were carrying his child. I would think that he'd be happiest with you than as a wizard."

Theresa nodded. "I know that now. But back then, I didn't even think of that. I was more afraid of the repercussions. From his family, the council… his sister… Life became so hard after that. He was shunned away by his family and the entire wizarding world. That, and the council was so upset with him for renouncing his powers. It was like an insult to their kind. If it weren't for Kelbo's persistence, Jerry would still have been cut off today. Kelbo camped inside the council's court until they lifted Jerry's banishment. He is the reason why Jerry was able to inherit the portal door in the walk-in freezer."

Harper smiled. She thought of Uncle Kelbo, the infamous, clumsy, and very unique Russo, and felt a sudden admiration for the man.

"To this day… I don't know…" Theresa hesitated as she paced a bit. "To this day, I wonder if Jerry's life would be better if he hadn't met me. Sometimes, I wonder if he regretted what he did. I doubt he would tell me, but, still, I wonder."

Harper didn't know what to say. The insecurity in Theresa's eyes seemed impenetrable.

"Mrs. Russo," she started, although she wasn't completely sure if she should continue. The slight nod that she received urged her on. "I love Justin."

Theresa looked at her, and smiled. Her brows furrowed as she predicted what was to come.

"I don't want him to be unhappy," said Harper, her voice small and pleading. "I love him."

Theresa stared at her sadly. Suddenly, the emotions that she felt when she first found out that she was pregnant with her first child came rushing back to her. "Oh, sweetheart," she said as she wrapped Harper in her arms again. "Have you talked to Justin about this?"

Harper shook her head.

"Maybe you should, Harper," Theresa told her. "Maybe you should."

Harper stood at the very back of the crowd when the Transfer of Powers began, far away from any suspecting creatures of her true relationship with the Russo family. She squinted her eyes as she watched Max sit in the middle throne chair while Alex and Justin sat on either side. Silence took over the entire ballroom as a sparkling, rainbow-color stream floated out of Max body and enter into Alex's, causing her to shiver until the stream dissipated. When it was over, Max's complexion seemed pale, and his expression confused. Harper concluded that it must be the effect of becoming a full mortal as she saw attendants in white coats attends to the youngest Russo, offering him a glass of juice as they fussed over his demeanor.

Then, the moment that everyone had been waiting for, the honoring of powers to Justin. Harper watched intently as Crumbs took his place behind his chair. He placed both hands on either side of Justin's head, seemed to take a huge breath, and then closed his eyes. The old wizard's entire body glistened; a bright flash emanated from him and blinded everyone in attendance. When the white light disappeared, the audience was left to gaze at a shivering Justin. His eyes were wide and his breathing looked rapid. He looked panicked at first, then a smile formed on his lips, which immediately transformed into a grin. The ballroom erupted with cheers.

A tiny smile formed on Harper's lips as she clapped her hands along with every else. Happiness filled her heart as she saw the joy in the Russo's faces, even Max, who still looked a bit sick. She watched Juliet and Mason join the stage, and the hugs that were soon exchanged. And as she watched Juliet embrace a grinning Justin, Harper couldn't help but feel depressed and left out. She tried not to be so self-centered, but, for that night, she was too tired to compose herself. Her surrogate family was celebrating, and she couldn't be a part of it. Instead, she was standing very far away from them, smiling and clapping all by her lonesome self. She almost felt foolish.

Harper took a huge breath and let it out slowly. With all her might, she pushed those negative feelings away. Or… no, not completely away. She controlled them, and suppressed them. Even for just that slight moment, she was determined to be a good person and see it through.

She watched as Mason planted a chaste kiss onto Alex's lips.

Harper felt her chest tighten. She wanted to be that. She wanted to be that with Justin. But she knew it was next to impossible at that point. Their circumstances would make it too difficult for her. For him.

Her eyes casted down before she turned around and walked slowly away. The attendants that opened the door for her did not miss the tears that were falling freely from her eyes.

Much later that night, Justin burst through the portal door to the Russo home. He had been looking for Harper all evening since the Transfer of Powers, but didn't find her. He assumed that she had decided to go home by herself. The rest of his family were barely getting themselves through the door as Justin ran out, calling her name with delight in his voice. He wanted to see her. He wanted to finally celebrate with her.

He checked her room first. She wasn't there.

He checked the living room. She wasn't there.

He checked Alex's room. She wasn't there.

And then he checked his room.

Time seemed to slow down as his mind registered what was on his bed. He didn't recognize it immediately, but when he did, his throat dried up and his breath caught.

There, laid neatly in the middle of his bed, was the plate that Harper made for him years ago; the one that she made for him as a farewell gift and had tried to give as he was leaving for college. He stared numbly at the image of himself and her, photoshopped to fit perfectly into each other's arms.

Laid next to it was a sheet of cupcake-patterned stationary paper that he knew only she used. A slight whimper escaped his lips as he read the words written in Harper's near, cursive handwriting.

_I love you._

Even hours later, the rest of the Russo's could still hear the sobs coming from Harper's basement room. Justin had ran in there to confirm her disappearance and had yelled in frustration as he found much of her essential belongings gone. Theresa and Jerry looked to each other, trying to decide what to do, but neither had the courage to disrupt the distress of their eldest son.


	24. Chapter 24

Disclaimer: I do not own Wizards of Waverly Place. I wish. But, alas, I don't. Additionally, no profit is being made from releasing this fiction story.

Author's Note: Yay! Another chapter! No new dealings in my life at this time so let's just READ ON!

**A Familiar Pattern 24**

**By genielou**

"_Who let the dogs out? Woof! Woof!"_

Justin groaned as he reached out for his cellphone. Once silencing it, he replaced it on his nightstand and buried his face into his pillow. Five minutes later, the horrid song assaulted his ears again. He allowed the song to repeat twice before finally rising from his bed while silently cursing upwards for his early morning requirements. After a few more minutes of staring blankly into space, he finally rose from his bed and grudgingly made his way out of his bedroom.

His eyes immediately widened as he stepped into his living room and took in the state that his adequately-sized studio apartment was in. Bottles and cans of beer littered the shelves and floors, empty shot glasses lay abandoned on the tables, and party decorations were haphazardly strewn all over the walls. A low groan escaped his throat upon glancing at the '_Happy 28__th__ Birthday!' _banner hanging from a far wall near the window.

"Right. Of course," he grumbled as activities of the previous night came rushing back to him. His friends from his job as a part-time Physics Professor at a local Community College had decided to throw Justin an impromptu birthday party. Attendants exceeded that of the usual list of people he was acquainted with, and instead extended towards friends of friends of friends. By the time the party was finally broken up by the authorities, his apartment had been completely thrashed. Who knew that adults of his age could party hard like they were still teenagers?

Shaking his head and releasing a deep sigh, Justin proceeded to his kitchen where the mess did not differ. He cleared the kitchen counter of random trash, rinsed and arranged his coffee maker, and left it to brew as he shuffled back to his bedroom. He stripped himself of his clothes on the way, throwing them arbitrarily to the already cluttered floor, and jumped into the shower without closing the bathroom door.

It had become a rather unnerving part of his character, to be this careless within his private demeanor. Through the years since his initiation into a full Wizard and his advancement in his careers as a Community College Physics Professor, WizTech Headmaster, and heralded Chancellor of Magic and Mortal affairs, Justin has grown quite somber and concealed. The strain of balancing two jobs and one Council position had put a tension in his relationship with himself and the people close to him, not to mention a strain in his ability to care for himself. His apartment was always messy; his refrigerator was always empty sans a few bottles of water. And an audience in his apartment was unheard of.

He had become a loner; always concentrating on work and never on any form of fun. Justin had become careless; only eating one meal a day and replacing at least three different food groups with caffeine. Although, it didn't hurt his physique in the least. He still displayed the body of a peaking 20-year-old man (which he considers as an accomplishment), but his doctor has warned him that his continuation towards this path of unhealthiness will eventually lead to ulcer, diabetes, anemia, or an early heart stroke.

A slight wave of nausea rose up from Justin's stomach, and he clamped his mouth shut to keep anything from coming out. _Breakfast. Must eat. And coffee, _he thought as he poured a generous amount of body wash onto a luffa. He scrubbed himself hard enough to turn his skin red as he tried to wash off the memories of the previous night. It had been years since he had last partied like that, and there was a reason for it. He was not a good drunk. In fact, somewhere in the back of his mind, Justin vaguely remembers dwelling into a tongue wrestling match with a woman he did not know. Or… was it _women? _He winced as he suddenly remembered at least more than two women that he ended up groping and taking into his room. He scrubbed harder until he felt his skin burn, only stopping when he was working on scrubbing his arm and noticed a thin, untanned line that encircled his wrist. His eyes glazed in recognition.

_Harper_.

The untanned line was caused by the very same hair tie that Harper gave him as a good luck charm when he entered the Family Wizard Competition. Justin had forgotten all about it until last night, when the thing finally snapped from being worn on his wrist for years. Thoughts of his time with her had been the push he needed to convince himself to let go, to allow himself to indulge in booze and nameless women for just one, vulnerable night.

The thought of Harper made his chest tighten. The wounds were far from fresh, but, nevertheless, they have yet to fully heal. It had taken him months after her disappearance, and numerous heart-to-heart sessions with his father, to completely understand why she left. If he was in her position, he would've been tempted to react similarly. Although, as he rationalized and analyzed her actions in his head, he gradually became upset and bitter at how she had handled it. Why didn't she just talk to him? If he had known, he would have done something about it. He would have changed everything. It would have been hard, but between the two of them, Justin had no doubts that they could have turned it around for their benefit.

Justin was desperate at first. He spent months searching for her; even going as far as demanding from her parents where she had gone. He also harassed his sister constantly, insisting that if anyone knew where Harper was hiding, it would be her. Both parties, no matter how much Justin bothered them, simply shook their heads at him and told him that he was wasting his time. Eventually, his initial drive dwindled, causing him to give up on his search and permit bitterness and depression to take over. As years passed, he slowly evolved into the workaholic hermit that he was now.

Noticing the pruning skin on the tip of his fingers, Justin turned the shower off and slowly dried himself with a towel. The fatigue of liquor has yet to go away, leaving him feeling sluggish and lazy. With great effort, he started his morning routine of downing at least two cups of coffee while watching the morning news before dressing in his usual dress shirt, tie, and slacks. Afterwards, he allowed himself a final once-over in front of the mirror, tucked his briefcase under one arm while holding a coffee tumbler with the other, and headed out of his apartment. Minutes later, he re-entered his apartment while cursing. He rummaged through his underwear drawer, took out his wand, and then secured it to a wand holster attached to his right calf. He cursed aloud a final time before leaving again with a loud slamming of his door.

Justin welcomed the cool morning air as he walked briskly to the subway. It was at times like these that he was most relaxed. The world seemed to be at a limbo between sleep and consciousness as the sun peaked over the horizon just enough to offer a reddening blanket over the darkness of the disappearing night. The surrounding streets of New York City were devoid of its usual noise and activity, relieving the morning goers of their anticipated stresses and lives. Even the crazies and the homeless seem to disappear momentarily.

_Or not, _Justin thought as he eyes a teenager putting money into the subway ticket machine. A fairly normal teenager carrying a skateboard, regardless of the all-too-familiar black Wizard robe that he wore.

The not-so-subtle change in the current wardrobe craze in the entire country had been a current dilemma at the Department of Magic and Mortal Affairs; which appropriates into Justin's immediate jurisdiction. The problem had started innocently enough with the vast exposure of the Harry Potter movies and various other Wizards-related merchandise. The Wizards-clothing line seemed harmless to start with, but when an actual indie-boutique line took interest in it, the franchise suddenly boomed out of proportion. Before Justin could even take action, mortals from California, New York, and New Jersey were already sporting clothing that looked too similar to other-worldly attires. The latest craze included coats that looked like Wizards robes, thick black-rimmed glasses, and even wand-holsters (just like the one that Justin was currently wearing). Soon, brightly-colored dresses that looked similar to the faery fashion style, jackets and boots that resembled dwarf working clothes, and even elf-inspired lingerie were being sold from almost every store.

Many manufacturers capitalized on the latest trend, but only one fashion line in particular were releasing the very authentic, almost-look-like-they-really-were-made-by-magical-creatures clothes: _Finky,_ a brand which Justin had grown quite wary of. Other stores like Walmart and Target released similar clothes, but those were still obviously copies. Fakes. But the _Finky_ brand were releasing clothes that not only looked similar to what magical creatures would wear, but actually looked _exactly_ like what magical creatures wear. The details of the brand's fashion lines were exquisitely accurate. It was as if the company was owned by a magical creature; one that had been very observant of the magical world's tastes and decided to capitalize on it. That, in itself, was why Justin's department had been investigating the matter. It was a direct threat to the Wizard World's secret.

For months, Justin, along with many of those directly under his supervision, had been investigating _Finky._ Nothing unusual had ever surfaced. All reports seem to point to it being a regular clothing brand. Although, what did seem ultimately suspicious to Justin was the lack of information regarding the brand's designer. He, or she, had never been captured on camera. The designer, and creator, of _Finky _were well hidden from the paparazzi, and this fact has been questioned by various tabloids before. Controversies had been hoaxed up to cover for the designer's lack of appearance: some had claimed that the designer was rather ugly and didn't fit the image of such a successful line, while others claimed that the designer suffered from personality disorders, thus requiring the designer to stay away from people. Nonetheless, figuring out who the designer was or why the designer was hiding had been Justin's immediate mission, and he had intended to start on it today. And if only his head wasn't protesting so much, he would be more determined about it.

_Maybe I'll start it tomorrow, _he thought miserably.

Justin walked through the subway station with ease. His sluggish movements slowly became more precise and automatic as he transferred through two trains to reach his destination. The college was still relatively empty, besides a few fellow colleagues who held morning responsibilities and the college's gardeners. With a few nods and hellos on the way, Justin quickly reached his classroom. Once inside, he sighed in relief as he gazed upon the different equipments, charts and models that was so familiar to him. He smiled to himself as a sense of normalcy, that he was usually deprived of, took hold of his mind.

The rest of his day was moderately calm and uneventful. His classes went smoothly and his headache, though present, remained dormant with the help of numerous cups of coffee. Even his students had been unusually behaved. His mood was on its way to completely improved until, after the last of his classes ended and he was left to tidy up his paperwork, he suddenly saw a picture sitting atop his desk.

Not even addressing the fact that the picture appeared out of nowhere, Justin grimaced as he saw himself, in all his colorfully drunken glory, seemingly taking a vodka shot off of a redhead's belly button. He didn't even recognize who the woman was. Justin groaned as he picked up the photo and lifted it for a closer look, hoping beyond hope that maybe the drunken fool within it was someone else.

"Someone was extra naughty last night."

Justin jumped at the uninvited voice. He turned around sharply and tried to emit composure against his sister's truthful accusation. The slightly dazed look of his eyes and his sluggish posture, however, betrayed him.

He glanced at the picture in his hand, and then transferred his frown towards Alex. "You were there?"

Alex scoffed. "Of course I was. Thanks for inviting me, by the way."

Justin shook his head as he opened his briefcase and appropriated the contents of his desk into it. "It was a surprise party. I didn't know about it."

"Oh. Well, either way, I didn't mind crashing. That's more of my style anyway."

Alex eyed her brother curiously as he ripped up the picture and pushed it to the bottom of his trash can.

"So," Justin started, trying to keep the grogginess from his tone. "How bad was I?"

Alex grinned. "Let's just say that it is definitely a good thing that you only work here part time. Otherwise, the discomfort level of this department would jump from normally nerdy to extremely controversial."

Justin groaned again as he buried his face in his hands. "I'm ruined."

Alex momentarily basked in her brother's embarrassment. "Hey, it'll be okay," she said as she patted his shoulder lightly. "As soon as I realized that you were hammered, which was absolutely fantastic, by the way, so good job—" she inserted with a laugh, "I made sure that all of the cameras at the party malfunctioned. Including phone cameras."

"Then how do you explain that?" Justin asked, pointing at the trash can.

Alex smirked. "_My_ phone camera, on the other hand, was not included."

Justin glared at her. "I want the pictures deleted."

"No."

Justin sighed heavily. "Evil little—"

"Well, anyhoo-ha," she said with a tilt of her head. She took a square envelope out of back pocket and held it out to him. "Here."

He eyed the envelope warily before accepting it. "An invitation? To what?"

"A fashion show," she said with a smirk. "A friend of mine offered a hefty price for the copyright to a few of my illustrations. She's using them on her new line."

"Line?"

"Clothing line. A new set of her designs will feature my illustrations as prints, and the debut will be tonight."

Justin sighed. "I don't know, Alex. I have a headache to nurse."

Her smirk widened to a knowing grin. "I insist you come, Justin. I have a feeling you'll find the event pretty interesting. It'll definitely be worth your while."

He stared at her. "And how exactly would you guarantee that I, a college professor and renowned Wizard Council member, will be interested in a _fashion_ _show_?"

"Renowned?"

"Yes, renowned."

Alex stared at him.

"Okay, fine. Relatively renowned."

"Relative to what?"

"Please just answer the question." Justin gritted through his teeth.

Placing both hands on her waists, she raised an eyebrow. "Trust me."

Justin eyed her curiously, still unsure of what to make of his sister's invitation.

Alex just rolled her eyes and sighed heavily. "There will be something there that I think you'll want to see." She smiled mischievously. "Consider it a late birthday present."

Justin frowned and tried to organize his questions in his head, but before he could ask further, Alex disappeared with a bright flash of light. Justin just shook his head and eyed the invitation warily. His pounding headache had doubled from seeing the offending photograph that Alex planted for him to see. With another shake of his head, he gathered his suitcase, checked to see if his wand was still secured, and headed out of the door.

When Justin arrived late at the fashion show, which was held as a private event within a space of the Museum of Contemporary Art, he felt as awkward as he anticipated being. The place was full of well-dressed people that ranged in all varieties of fashionable. From the faux-pas to the contemporary, to the Betty-Pages, and to the classic conservatives. If Justin's tweed jacket and gray slacks was not acceptable for the event, no one would have noticed because everyone stood out in their own respect.

Justin stopped walking as a flute of champagne appeared at his eye-level. His eyes widened as he followed the hand holding it back to his very own brother.

"Hello hello!" Max exclaimed. "You came!"

Justin nodded and took the flute. "Alex insisted. Wouldn't leave me alone until I agreed." He sipped his champagne and sighed happily as the bubbly liquid cooled his throat. "Is there anything stronger than this? I have a really stubborn headache that won't go away."

Max chuckled. "I heard. Follow the Maxxy-man and I'll lead you to the bar," he said with a gesture of his hand.

"So, Max," Justin started as he followed with caution. "Alex said that tonight would be worth my attention. According to past experiences, I really should stop believing her willy-nilly, but I came anyway. Do you have any idea what she was talking about?"

Max eyed him curiously as he raised a finger to the bartender. "Yup."

Their conversation halted momentarily as they vocalized their alcoholic preferences to the bartender. As soon as their drinks were finished and exchanged for their flutes of champagne, Justin narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Max. "Why do I get the feeling that I'm going to regret coming here tonight?"

"Au contraire, my friend," replied Max as he swigged his beer. "You will definitely hate tonight, but I don't think you'll regret it. If anything, you'll be very happy you came tonight."

"Happy?"

"Well, okay, no, not happy exactly. Maybe, satisfied?" Max continued. "Content? An emotion somewhere between mediocre and horrified? I'm not sure if there's a word for it. I mean, tonight will be both good and bad for you."

"O. Kay. I'm leaving now."

"Wait, wait!" Max exclaimed, seizing Justin by the arm and pulling him before he could move away. "Alright, I get it. Alex is untrustworthy. Even I know that. But, trust me, Justin. Okay? You gotta stay. Just stay."

"What is with all the secrecy? I swear, Alex is rubbing off too much on you." Justin glared at him. "I'm still nursing a really bad hangover. I'm not in the mood to be placed in an even worst mood."

Max looked at him sternly. "Justin, if you leave now, I guarantee that you'll regret it. Now shut up, drink up, and stay."

Surprised by Max's determination and conviction, Justin sighed heavily and took a generous sip of his scotch. The liquid burned in his throat but he welcomed the slight haziness that it provided to his aching head. He behaved himself for the majority of the night. He conversed with random socialites, even threw in a few professional comments regarding fashion and art at the appropriate moments, while Max stuck to him like glue. _Probably to make sure I don't leave_, Justin thought. The night progressed with pop music, alcohol, and model shows at ten-minute intervals within the three raised catwalk stages built within the museum. Needless to say, Justin enjoyed the almost half-naked models, at the very least.

It was on Justin's fifth glass of scotch that he suddenly realized the clothes that were being modeled looked vaguely familiar. Many of them showcased prints of Alex's paintings, but the designs looked too recognizable for comfort. He could've sworn he had worn some of the clothes before.

Justin's eyes widened as his mind started piecing the puzzle together. His gaze rose to the banner atop the entrance and he swore outloud.

"_Finky_," he said absentmindedly as his eyes traced the pastel curves of the brand, written on the banner.

Max snickered. "Good clothes, bro. They're kinda cute."

Justin turned to him abruptly. "Max, _Finky _is the brand that my department is investigating," he whispered harshly. "They're manufacturing clothes that look too much like Wizards' clothes!"

"And, of course, being here will be good for your investigation, right?"

Justin stood back in surprised. "Is that why I'm here? Is that why Alex insisted that I come?"

Max's eyes twinkled with mischief as he noticed the volume of the music lowered to a degree and the models of the stages dispersed. "Nope. You're here for something else."

Justin was about to press further when a voice suddenly boomed through the air.

"_Hello, everyone! Good evening!"_

Both Russo's turned towards the center stage to see a tall blonde, who was gowned and fluffed to her peak, grinning and speaking through a microphone. Justin immediately recognized her as _Finky_'s lead representative, a substitute to the actual designer's lack of appearances.

"_I would just like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for attending. As you may all know, tonight is an especially exclusive occasion. Not only do we showcase our latest designs… You, all of you, will also get to finally see the genius behind everything!"_

Applause erupted from all around. Justin turned his head abruptly to Max, who just grinned maddeningly at him.

"_Now, now," _she cooed with a wide gesture of her hand, _"I know what you're thinking… Why now? Why, after so long did she decide to finally show her face? Well, Sirs and Ma'ams, I will most definitely tell you why. It is because, just recently, she became… drum roll please!"_

Justin rolled his eyes as her heard the sound of drums rolling.

"_Engaged! She became engaged!"_

Applause erupted again. Justin frowned as he became increasingly suspicious of Max's Cheshire-like grin.

"_And now, without further a dew, I present, the creator, owner, and absolute genius behind Finky! Let's give her another round of applause!"_

Justin's eyed bulged to their fullest as a familiar figure walked out into the stage. Realization and clarity hit him at top speed. His breathing heightened and his surprise turned into a scowl as he gazed at the familiar redhead waving at the crowd. The pale, white skin, the short auburn bob atop her head, and the smile that he still occasionally pictures in his mind before sleeping at night. He shook his head, as if trying to deny the unfolded events before him, but his long-dealings with logic scrutinized his brain at the unmistaken appearance of her. An extreme weight of stupidity overwhelmed him as he berated himself for not putting the pieces of the mystery together sooner.

_Clothes that looked similar, if not accurately, Magical…_

_The designer never showing her face to the public…_

_Finky…_

_Finkle…_

Justin shook his head again, disbelieving what was happening. It was only when he felt Max's hand under his chin did he realize that his mouth had been hanging open for the past several minutes.

"Happy birthday, Justin," he said to his brother over the still roaring crowd, as he pushed Justin's chin up to close his gaping mouth.


	25. Chapter 25

Disclaimer: I do not own Wizards of Waverly Place. No profit is being made from releasing this fictional story.

Author's Note: Yay! Another chapter! This one is a little short, though. I really tried to make it longer, but it seemed like keeping this particular even on its own was right. So enjoy! And keep the reviews coming. They urge me to write faster.

Also, and I'm just putting this out there. If you have any ideas for one-shots that you would like me to write, please let me know. I'm always open to ideas, and if you're willing to share with me, I'll give it a shot.

Let's read on!

**A Familiar Pattern 25**

**By genielou**

"Harper," Justin whispered as he tried his hardest to ignore the condescending smirk that seemed to have become pasted on Max's face. He had no doubt that Alex was somewhere within the vicinity, watching him and most likely laughing her head off.

"_Good evening," _she addressed to the crowd, still smiling and waving, and still unaware of her very own past staring confusedly at her from the crowd.

The sound of her voice triggered something within Justin. Long forgotten desires seeped up and overwhelmed him, making his chest tighten. He downed the rest of his scotch as he tried to control the rabid emotions that were struggling to escape from his practiced demeanor. He tried to concentrate on the sight of her, and to differentiate her from the perfected image that he has kept on a pedestal in his mind. Despite her apparent aging, she looked almost the same. Her hair was the same shade of auburn with just the right gleam of red. Her physique still curved at just the right angles, in that same way the complimented his embrace. Her smile, the very same one that always brightened his days and nights, still stretched from ear to ear with what he was sure to be her sincerest expression. And her white skin and red lips that rivaled that of the fairy tale's very own Snow White…

The crowd settled as she lifted the microphone to her lips. "_My name is Harper Finkle, and I am also the creator and head designer of Finky. First and foremost, thank you so, so much for all of your support. If it weren't for you: our beloved trustees, sponsors, fans, and buyers, Finky wouldn't be where it is today."_

Applause.

Harper proceeded to tell the crowd about herself, stories of how _Finky _came to be formed, but Justin could barely hear any of it. A haze seemed to block out all sounds as he battled with his inner demons. Memories of touching and kissing her suddenly flooded Justin's mind. The haziness that the scotch offered only moments ago was slowly being defeated by the nostalgia of her appearance. He wanted so badly to find another form of alcoholic bliss to engulf, but his legs felt like they were stuck at a standstill as his eyes remained glued to the occupants of the stage.

"—_soon to be Mrs. Finkle-Bisca, so we thought that now would be a great opportunity to reveal—"_

_Wait, what? Finkle-Bisca? _Justin thought as his attention was snapped back to the stage.

"—_celebrate my engagement with the rest of the you—"_

All rationality escaped Justin's reason as his eyes widened and the familiar panic surfaced from his chest.

_Finkle-Bisca... _

_Engagement…_

_Engagement…_

_Engagement?_

…

_Engagement!_

Justin's hand reacted before he could think. He swiftly took his wand out and with a flick of his wrist, time slowed to a mili-second of a speed, almost to a complete stop. He looked around frantically as his mind tried to rapidly rationalize what he had just done.

"Justin! What did you do?" Max exclaimed at him; Justin's eyes frowned as he wondered why Max was still moving and promptly remembered that he was, after all, a wizard descendent.

His eyes gazed at the stage, and widened as he saw Harper at mid-speech. His feet started moving forward, hastening at every step. He stopped when he saw Alex run up to the stage to seemingly analyze her best friend's condition. She looked to the crowd, searching, and quickly zoned in on him.

With a flick of her own wand, Harper regained her own speed, and abruptly looked around in frantic as she realized what had happened. She looked even more frantic when she became aware of Justin's presence. She looked to Alex, then Justin, then again at both. Her breathing heightened in alarm.

"What's going on?" she asked, her voice high and pitched.

A grin spread on Alex's face, which quickly fell when Harper smacked her hard on the shoulder.

"Ow! Excuse you!"

"You—you—suck!"

"Why do I suck? Just the other day, you said you missed—"

"And this is how you respond to that comment?"

"Oh, come on! How else would I respond?"

"Well—not like this!"

"If not like this, then it wouldn't be funny."

"I'm going to kill y—"

"Hey!" Justin yelled, immediately interrupting their banter. "What the hell is going on?"

He was addressing everyone, but his eyes remained on Harper, as hers remained on him. It was Alex's sniggers that broke their trance.

Alex grinned at them. "I really am quite devilish, aren't I? Whelp!" She grabbed hold of Harper's arm and held her wand up. "It's time to go. Justin, you wouldn't mind cleaning up, do you? Okay! Thanks!"

Alex flicked her wrist, and with a flash of bright light, both she and Harper disappeared. Justin let out a stream of colorful curses while Max shook his head with a few tsk's.

Justin performed the do-over spell once he calmed himself down, making sure to reverse time enough to before Harper appeared on the stage. That event was instead replaced with a slight commotion as to Harper's disappearance. The _Finky _representative expertly improvised for the rest of the event.

Justin left after making sure that Harper and Alex weren't going to make any more appearances for the night, much to Max's confusion and protests. Max tried to follow him, but had to give up the quest when Justin turned into an alley way and disappeared in a flash of light.

He reappeared in his apartment. Frustrated, angry, and still headache-induced, he haphazardly pulled at his tie until it loosened enough for him to yank it off. He proceeded to his coat, and then threw both garments onto the floor.

He couldn't believe it. He just couldn't believe it. Profanity raced to the tip of his tongue as he processed the betrayal of his own siblings, both of whom apparently knew the entire time—THE ENTIRE TIME—that he had succumbed to depression where Harper had ran away to. All of those years of not knowing… the years of guilt over what he could have done differently to prevent it from happening… the years of regret over not fighting for her… And now, when he was sure he looked his worse, he sees her in all of her beautiful glory—she looked the same, not even a hair out of place. She was like a painting that had been preserved and stored away; aged but elegantly stilled in time.

When Justin felt an oncoming pull that was unmistakably magical, he quickly pulled off his right shoe and threw it at the direction that he was sensed it from. The shoe struck its target on the arm as a bright flash of light appeared.

"Ow! Dammit!" Alex exclaimed as she rubbed her arm. "Okay, yeah, real mature, Justin!"

"You tricked me!"

"Well, yes, okay, I did. But technically, no, I didn't," said Alex. "I told you to come and you came. I didn't, like, drag you or anything."

Justin heaved a sigh or frustration as he tried to control his breathing. He was one meltdown short of attempting to wring his sister's neck. "I want to talk to her."

"Who?"

"You know who. I want to talk to her," Justin repeated with firmer conviction.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Alex," he said, his voice low and threatening. "What is the point of tricking me into coming tonight if you're just going to play dumb with me."

"Technically, I didn't trick-"

"Alex!"

She snickers.

"Alex!"

"All right! All right! Geez, take a chill-pill. Or lay off the caffeine a bit," Alex confessed with flailing gestures. "Okay! To be honest, yes, I guess I did trick you. I supposed. If you really want to get theoretically precise with what I did. But, if it makes you feel better, I tricked Harper too. She didn't know that you were coming tonight."

Justin eyed her curiously. "Alright, Alex. Knowing you, and I do, there is a contingency plan for every consequential scenario. Now, I will ask you nicely and you had better play nice this time: What is the second part of your plan in response to what just happened tonight?"

Alex made a funny expression before smiling. "Aww, Justin, I didn't know you believed in me that much."

Justin retorted by narrowing his eyes.

"Well, unfortunately, I did not plan this to happen. I expected Harper to freak out a little but be happy about seeing you. I expected you two to go out to coffee afterwards and rekindle past mistakes. And you know what, quite honestly, I thought you'd be more appreciative about it. I expected hugs and thank you's actually," she rambled on. "But, alas, none of that happened. You both freaked out—well, she, more than you, and then you freezed time—which was, by the way, a superbly hilarious reaction—and now, we're here. So, if you have any ideas as to how we should proceed, by all means, please share them with me."

Justin remained silent as he thought of what to say while Alex fiddled with her hands and shuffled her feet. When Justin finally spoke, his voice was softer and calmer. "I want to talk to her."

Alex furrowed her brows. "I really don't think that's a good idea."

Justin frowned. "Why not?"

"Because, Justin," Alex sighed. "Weren't you listening to the show tonight? She's engaged."

"Yes, I heard. I was listening. Well, no, I wasn't, but I heard that part briefly," he explained. Then shook his head and looked at her pleadingly. "That's why I need to talk to her."

"To do what, exactly?" Alex said. "Justin, I love you, you know that. I saw how hard it was for you to get over her. If you talk to her, you might say something stupid and regress."

Justin sighed in defeat as he sat down on his couch. "Alex, you devised this scheme for a reason. If it wasn't so that I could talk to her, then what is it?"

"I did it so that you can have closure. Come on, man, it's been years."

Justin buried his face in his hands. Alex wasn't wrong. Just the sight of Harper was already having a strong reaction within him. What would happen if he were to actually talk to her?

Justin sighed again. "No, I have to. Alex, I have to."

"Justin, come on—"

"No. If you want me to have any sort of closure, then I need to talk to her." Justin lowered his hands and looked at Alex, his expression pleading. "Like you said, Alex, it took years to be at this stage and I'm still not over it completely. Maybe talking to her… I just want to find out what happened. Or… or… I don't know. I just…" Justin sighed heavily. "Please, Alex," he whispered. "Please."

Alex furrowed her brows. She knew she should say no, but seeing her older brother in such misery was enough to make her heart break. "Okay, Justin. I'll ask her. No guarantees but I'll ask her. In the meantime, it may be a good idea for me to prep you for your talk."

Nodding, Justin scooted to make room for Alex to sit next to him; but Alex just walked past him and started heading towards the kitchen. "We need coffee. This is going to be a long conversation…"


	26. Chapter 26

Disclaimer: I do not own Wizards of Waverly Place. No profit is being made from releasing this fictional story.

Author's Note: Woot woot! Another chapter! Thank you to everyone who reviewed. Your encouragements are really well-appreciated, and, like I mentioned before, hearing how much YOU like the story makes ME write faster. If you hate the story, criticism is also welcome. Although, I'll probably just ignore you if you say mean things. :P

Stay with me, guys! Justin and Harper will be together again soon. I promise!

Let's read on!

**A Familiar Pattern 26**

**By genielou**

Harper crossed her arms over her chest and huffed. She had driven to her studio early that morning so that she could work on a lot of things. Stacks of paperwork, order forms, and proposals to go through; boxes of fabric samples to test; designs to finalize; phone and video meetings to attend to; etcetera, etcetera… But she was too distracted to concentrate on anything. Five cups of coffee and a cream cheese bagel later, and she was still on the first proposal that she picked up three hours ago. No matter what she did, she still could not escape from being irritated, annoyed, frustrated, and down right pissed. A spared glance towards the vase of white tulips that was sitting on a table across the room reminded her of the very reason why she was so distracted.

It had been weeks since the eventful night of her reveal… or, at least, what she had planned to be her reveal to the public. But no, that plan went down the gutter when Alex had purposely led her eldest brother (and Harper's first love) to the fashion show. Everything just went down hill from there. Her plan of finally becoming public and of sharing her engagement to the world, which took FOR-E-VER to plan, by the way, was ruined. Now she was back to square one: hidden from the public (again), and no engagement announcement.

She and Alex had an argument immediately after that had happened. Although… Harper supposed that it wasn't really an argument if she was the only one yelling. Alex merely sat on a chair with an infuriating smirk on her lips. No, it wasn't an argument at all. Harper had screamed with flailing gestures at her best friend, cursing and accusing all sorts of things. In fact, if she wasn't such a good-goody, she might have even punched the growing mirth in Alex's eyes away.

Afterwards, following the multiple yelling sessions that occurred after that initial "argument," Alex had the nerve—THE NERVE!—to ask her if she would be willing to meet with Justin! Harper scoffed at the thought. No! Of course she would NOT like to meet Justin! She's already engaged, thank you very much! And to a great guy too! Why would she ever want to even look at another man? An ex-boyfriend, nonetheless? Her first love, moreover!

Harper's conviction wavered as she glanced at the tulips again…

"Damn it," she muttered as she rose from her chair and walked towards the menacing flowers. Her fingers graced the petals before her eyes fell to the card that it came with, still taped to the lip of the vase. Her gaze maintained the graceful curve of the 'J' before appreciating the entirety of the name. Despite years of not seeing his cursive penmanship, Harper could still recognize the work of his hand.

To imply that Justin was resilient was an understatement. Even after receiving continuous rejections to the multiple invitations for a meeting, Justin still did not give up. He had succumbed to sending daily gifts instead. This started over a week ago, so Harper's studio office now had a table full of gifts that she refused to acknowledge. There were five vases of flowers, one of which was already starting to wilt, and at least three boxes of chocolate-covered almonds that sat almost undisturbed on her table of gifts, each accompanied by a tall cup of caramel macchiato coffees. There actually used to be four boxes of chocolate but Alex ate through one, much to Harper's protests. Andy had questioned her about the seemingly romantic gifts, to which Harper just answered, "Business associates, that's all." Why Harper didn't just tell him the truth, she could not even fathom.

And that morning, when she arrived at the warehouse studio that she had bought merely a year ago, the vase of tulips were already sitting on the floor near the warehouse gate. Justin's name almost came crashing in her mind as she glared at the beautiful set of flowers that seemed to smile innocently at her. _How did he find out where I work?, _she remembered thinking when the very first gift arrived all those days ago (a vase of sunflowers and a cup of coffee). Her warehouse was only fifteen minutes away from her modestly tiny apartment, which were both located in a farming town west of France. A head lock and a threat of wand-breaking later, Alex provided that she was the one who told Justin where she lived. Harper's retort were a colorful mix of "You traitor!" and "Magic sucks!"

A loud chiming echoed through out the room, pulling Harper away from her thoughts. She walked in wide strides towards the monitor mounted on a far wall and smiled as she saw her fidgeting Atlantean of a fiancé, who stood anxiously by the gate. She pressed a button on the keypad mounted beside the monitor. "Sweetie, you have keys. Why don't you use it?"

Andy looked up at the security camera, and eyed her theoretical self through the monitor. "I try not to pry in your sanctuary. Respect of privacy and all that."

She giggled before pressing another button to let him in. She watched as her fiancé disappeared from the monitor.

"And how is my favorite, world-renowned designer this morning?" Andy greeted as he entered the room. She grinned as he approached her and held up a brown paper bag. "I thought I'd surprise you with muffins."

She gave him a peck on the cheek before take the bag in hand. "Chocolate, right? Not blueberry?"

"Of course," he answered sheepishly. "I learned from the last time."

Harper smiled. "And that is why you are my favorite fish in the sea."

He grinned at that, but upon noticing yet another addition to her table of gifts, he frowned. "Another one of your associates sent you a gift?"

She stopped abruptly from biting into her muffin to turn to him. Over a week ago, he only looked at her with curious eyes. Lately, however, his curiosity was slowly turning into suspicion, and Harper was starting to notice it. "Yeah. These business types… they think they can charm a contract out of me with flowers and sweets," she said, laughing nervously.

Andy, though unconvinced, simply nodded. "Right. Well, I was wondering what time I should pick you up tonight."

"Tonight?" she asked with a mouthful of muffin. "What's happening tonight?"

Andy stared at her incredulously. "You're kidding," he told her. "My parents. You're meeting my parents tonight."

Harper gasped slightly. "That's tonight?" she asked. "I—I'm sorry, sweetie, but I have a meeting with my shareholders in California tonight."

He sighed in exasperation as he ran a hand through his hair. "Harper, I love you, but you always do this. This is the fifth time that you've forgotten. My parents are starting to wonder if you really exist."

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry I forgot.," she pleaded as her brows furrowed. "How about we go to your parents' after the meeting? The live feed starts at six o'clock. It should be done in an hour or so."

Andy shook his head. "You know as well as I do that those shareholder meetings lasts longer than that. The last one you had—the one for New York?—went on for over five hours."

"Well, that one was… intensely detailed. I didn't expect for us to actually look through the quarterly sales of _every _boutique within the eastern chain. I'll cut this one short. I promise!"

Andy stared at her, disappointment evident in his eyes. He heaved a sigh before sitting down on one of her fabric-cluttered tables. "Babe, we've had this argument before and my counter response is still the same. You have accountants to handle that kind of stuff for you, but you just insist on taking the unnecessary load on yourself." He looked at her sternly. "You, my love, are a workaholic, and I love that about you…"

Harper smiled.

"But, I did hope that some of that fire will transfer to our wedding once I proposed. We've been engaged for over a year now, and still nothing has changed—"

"What do you mean nothing has changed? I'm buried to my neck with appointments for the wedding," she countered. "That's why I've been so busy."

"And yet again, I will challenge that with 'Don't you have secretaries to deal with that kind of stuff?'"

She cringed. "Details. Details are important. If I leave things to my secretaries, things could go wrong."

Andy sighed heavily again. He stood and approached her slowly, the expression on his face was one of uncertainty and sadness. Placing both hands on either of her cheeks, he guided her gaze to his own eyes. "I'm starting to wonder if you're more committed to your job than to me."

Harper pulled away gently as her eyes hardened. "Don't start that again."

He stared at her, though she, in turn, avoided looking at him. "You promised that you'd announce our engagement," he said quietly to her. "That alone should've encouraged your shareholders to back off a bit. But you didn't, did you? I've been checking the tabloids and the newspapers. There had been nothing about _Finkle_'s creator coming out into the limelight, or about any sort of engagement, or otherwise."

Harper groaned inwardly. A few choice words passed through her mind as she thought of Alex.

Her mind momentarily flittered to the secrets that she was withholding from her fiancé. Why she didn't tell Andy about what had happened that night, she wasn't sure. Maybe it was because mentioning Justin's name was almost like admitting defeat to the fact that Justin may actually be becoming a part of her life again. _But… So what?, _she thought. She had long let go of what they had in the past. Andy was her life now. Andy was her future.

A future that was slowly falling apart as she stood under his scrutiny whilst defending herself to accusations that, deep down, she knew to be all true.

The silence lasted for over a minute as she contemplated an answer for him. She couldn't even maintain his judging gaze. Staring at a crack on the floor became more bearable than looking at him. After another minute or so, she heard, rather than saw, him walk away. The door closed gently, but not before a soft "I'll tell my mother not to expect you," reached her ears.

Harper sighed. "Dammit… not again…"

Shamed and guilt-ridden, Harper slumped down on a chair and buried her face in her hands. She and Andy had been having the same argument over and over again for the past few months and not with lack of evidence either. Every complaint that Andy throws at her was almost spot on in its accuracy; but Harper felt strongly that Andy should be able to understand why she devotes herself so much to her work. He, of all people, should understand. _Finkle _was her creation and Andy was, after all, the encouragement behind it.

Lately though, and she hated to admit this, she had become _obsessed_ with her company. Not just dedicated or devoted… she was borderline _obsessed._ And this was because her not being public and only operating behind the scenes came with many possible consequences. Maintaining her hidden identity meant that everything she did had to be very careful and precise. She had to go through numerous loops of communication to get certain things done, she had to choose employees, shareholders, and partners cautiously (only those who could keep her existence a secret could be allowed into her tight-knit club). Most importantly, she had to always be on top of her game. Being a woman in the industry meant that she had to be more aggressive, more stern, more… Everything! She had to mature, from a soft-spoken, giggly girl to the business-type, don't-mess-with-me-or-I'll-fire-you alpha female. Did she like being that way? Of course not! But she had to do it, and she did a great job of it. She had worked hard over the years: transforming herself and building _Finkle _from scratch. She was proud of her accomplishments.

But now she was getting married. _Finkle _will soon become the embodiment of not only herself, but also another person. And she wasn't sure how she felt about that.

She loves Andy, no question about it. She had agreed to their engagement will great enthusiasm. Although… the initial proposal was over a year ago… A lot has happened since then. _Finkle_'s reputation blew out of proportion, and, as a result, her future suddenly became unimaginable. The promise of success took over. Before she knew it, she was spending every day and night on designing, reviewing numbers, and attending meetings.

*Crunch*

Now that she thought about it, when was the last time that she and Andy had gone out on a date? A more troubling question was: when was the last time she and Andy had spent more than ten minutes together in the same room? Kissing, arguing, or otherwise.

Harper glanced at the clock on the wall. 12:11 pm. She remembered glancing at it when it was exactly noon, which was around the time that Andy had arrived. Yup, ten minutes.

She groaned as she buried her face in her hands again.

*Crunch*

Was it weird that she barely missed him whenever he was not around? That wasn't normal, right? She's supposed to always want to be with him for every minute of the day.

*Crunch* *Crunch*

Add to that the constant whisper of Justin's name in her mind. Harper had been trying to push that fateful night in the back of her mind. Her life was already complicated; she didn't need a ghost from her past to cause even more problems.

*Crunch* *Crunch* *Crunch*

_What the hell is that noise?! _she thought as she growled out loud. Looking up, her eyes widened as she saw none other than her devil of a best friend, staring curiously at one of her mannequins while her hand fished inside a bag of chips.

*Crunch* *Crunch*

The noise continued as Alex stuffed her mouth with a handful of potato chips.

"Wha—how long have you been there?" Harper stammered.

Alex turned to her as if she didn't even notice Harper until that very second. "Oh! Hi, Harper!"

Harper just stared at her as Alex dipped her hand into her bags of chips again. She lifted a chip to her mouth daintily, and chewed with bared teeth.

Alex swallowed exaggeratedly before answering. "Long enough. I was gonna, you know, say hi and all. But then you guys started getting all serious and stuff, so I just stayed hidden. Or invisible. Whatever."

The crunching commenced as Harper just stared at her suspiciously. Finally, Harper turned to her desk. "I'm busy."

Harper tried to ignore Alex as she reviewed the pile of paperwork on her desk. She could still hear the crunching though. It moved around the room. It remained by her mannequins for a good five minutes, then it moved to her display of new designs for the next ten minutes. She tried hard to concentrate on next month's fabric orders, but her concentration started to dwindle when the crunching seemed to move closer to her. Closer, and closer still, until she heard it right next to her right ear.

"What'cha doing?" Alex asked in between crunches.

Harper sighed loudly. "I'm doing somersaults. What does it look like I'm doing?"

"Hmm. Hmm-mm," Alex mumbled as she nodded, still chewing on her potato chips.

_*Crunch**crunch*_

Harper tried to ignore Alex and the obviously loud crunching by her ear.

_*Crunch**crunch*_

Finally, Harper gave up and heaved a sigh. She turned from her work to face her best friend, who was now chewing with her mouth open. Harper grimaced and figured that she was doing that to deliberately make her crunching sound louder.

"Do you have a purpose for coming here?" asked Harper.

Another loud crunch. "Maybe."

"Are you… going to tell me about it?" Harper asked, enunciating her words slowly.

Alex just looked at her, and shrugged.

They stared at each other; one trying to measure the other up. Finally, Harper let a defeated breath out. She turned to her desk, stacked her papers neatly, and stood. "Come on," Harper said as she started walking to the door. "Might as well get some coffee or something."

Alex grinned. "Oooh yay! That is actually why I'm here!"

Harper looked at her warily.

"What?" Alex asked with a shrug. "I can't just drop by to hang out with my best friend?"

Harper rolled her eyes as she held the door open for her.

Twelve minutes later, Harper glared at the champagne flute she held in her hand, all the while cursing inwardly for letting Alex choose where they would 'hang out'. "I was actually implying that we have coffee at the café across the street from my studio."

Alex shrugged. "Well, I wasn't in the mood for coffee. I wanted champagne."

Harper glanced at the panoramic view in front of her. A cold wind nipped her hair as she looked onto the vast horizon of the busy Paris streets. "Champagne. At the top of the Eiffel Tower?"

"I was craving the scenery too. Ooh look! You can see Aunt Megan's apartment from here!" Alex gleefully said, and then shrugged under Harper's scowl. "What? You said '_or something'?_ This counts."

Harper gritted her teeth. "You had better _not _leave me stranded here _again_. This is three hours away from my studio by car. And I am, may I add, _without _a car."

Alex snorted as she placed a hand on the metal cage of the balcony. She leaned her head forward to look at the ground below. "Man, those people look likes ants from up here. _Mes gens_! I am your God! _Me m'incliner_!"

The other occupants of the balcony turned their heads towards the yelling teenager. Harper cringed as she smiled helplessly at them. "Alex, knock it off!"

Alex laughed. "Ha ha ha ha ha ha! Okay, okay," she said with hand held up. Then, with a devious glint in her eyes, leaned on the metal cage again and yelled, "Bow to me! _Me m'incliner_!"

Harper covered her face as she walked away, "I don't know her. Crazy. _Les American fous_, eh?" she offered to anyone who glanced her way, while accentuating her French accent as to complete her 'I'm not American' guise. She dumped her champagne into a trash bin and squeezed her way into the crowded elevator. At ground floor, she exited and quickly strode to an open area. She wasn't surprised at all to see her best friend, champagne flute gone and chatting with one of armed militia that frequently guarded the historical monument.

"Are you sure I can't take a picture of you?" Harper heard Alex say to the annoyed-looking soldier.

"Miss, pleez zu not azk agayin. _Non_. _Non_."

With a determined frown, Harper grabbed Alex by the arm and pulled her away. "Alex! I know that this is regular behavior for you back home, but, here, the military will not hesitate to shoot you for acting stupid! Plus, they hate tourists here. So please, _please _stop!"

Alex laughed. "Alright, alright. I'll stop! Seriously. Promise. I'll stop," she said in between giggles. "That was fun though, right?"

Harper glared at her before releasing her. "Okay. You came here to talk to me, right? You always do. You never show up just to show up. So… what is it about this time?"

Alex stopped laughing and bit her lower lip. Her brows furrowed as she looked at her sincerely. "I wanted to see how you were doing. Honestly. Just… wanted to check if you were okay."

"Is this an indication of a sincere apology for what you did?"

Alex nodded. She took Harper's hand in hers and pulled her gently along as she started walking towards the street. "Is it safe to ask about what happened… um, back at the studio? You know, with you and, uh, Aquaman?"

The corner of Harper's lips twitched as she remembered the argument. "Stop calling him that. And… ask me again tomorrow? Not today. Please."

"Hmm-k. Will do." Alex nodded, although the troubled look on her face revealed her worry.

They walked aimlessly for a some time, silently crossing the crowded bridge towards the _Trocadero_ estate. Harper just stared forward, her eyes blank as she took in the site of the _Palais_ _de_ _Chaillot_. She had read much about the palace but never truly took the time to visit it. It was a magnificent place, rivaled only by the complimenting garden that they were slowly making their way towards.

Harper wanted to appreciate the entirety of it, truly; but she couldn't keep the marvel of the structure from going unheeded as her mind raced from one issue to another: her failed reveal, her rocky engagement, Justin… Her frown deepened while Alex walked alongside her, quietly giggling with a huge grin on her face. Harper didn't pay much attention to the seemingly growing beam on Alex's face until a familiar figure caught her eye.

He was turned away, however it was still unmistakable. As soon as her feet landed on the green grass of the _Trocadero_ garden, her eyes immediately recognized the man who stood stationary by the garden's main pool. His broad shoulders, his unkempt hair, even his clothes and his stance… Harper would know him even without having to see his face.

As if by some form of traitorous coincidence, he turned around; and Harper's breath caught. It hadn't been long since she last saw him; a little over a week, and that moment had been frantic. This time though, her eyes lingered longer on certain parts of him that she had trouble denying she actually missed. The way he stood so impressively erect, with his legs at a perfect distance apart and his chest outward, even when relaxed. His hands were in his pockets, like he always did whenever he was waiting for something, or her on their dates. He was clean-shaven; the last time she had seen him, he looked like he had just awoken from sleep. Today, at that moment, he looked so clean and polished; just like she remembered. His jeans and t-shirt made him look like a simple man, and not at all the professor that he was now. He was still as handsome as she was when she left. His skin looked lighter, possibly from always staying inside his office or lab all day (from what Alex had provided her), but nonetheless, his face still exuded that boyish charm that Harper had been in love with all those years ago.

His eyes widened as they met hers, and his expression was like a mirror of hers. The shock, the betrayal, the anticipation… all of those expressions passed by briefly in both of their faces. The look of surprise evident on his features only meant one annoying, irritating, and obvious fact that Harper knew she should have known all along.

"Alex…" Harper gritted through her teeth.

The wide smile on Alex's face did not waver. "So…" she started. "I was thinking, you know, because I do that now. I was thinking that maybe the best way to get Justin off _my _back is to have _you _talk to _him_. And, may I say, I think this is the best idea I've had in a while."

Harper spared a glance at Justin. He has not moved from his spot and he seemed to be contemplating how to approach the situation, just like she was. "Alex," she started sternly. "I want to go home. Now."

As Harper turned to walk away, Alex quickly moved to stand in her way. "Hear me out first. Please," she pleaded, more seriously this time. She took Harper's arm and led her a few feet away from where Justin stood. "Harper, I'm not stupid. I know things are a little… complicated, right now. For you. Not for me, 'cause, well, I'm good right now." She shook her head slightly to keep from getting off topic. "Youe job is getting harder, I think. I'm pretty sure. Well, no I'm not. I never pay attention when you talk about it, but—I mean, you have dark circles under your eyes! I'm assuming you haven't been sleeping enough? You never answer your phone anymore. I talk more to your voicemail than to you. And the only time I see you is when I pop in. Unexpectedly, mostly. You know, your mom is getting worried. Have you called your parents lately?"

Harper looked away guiltily.

"And the lack of sleep can't just be from work. Am I right? That argument that I heard earlier… you haven't even told me _anything_ about that. And don't try to tell me that it's nothing, because it didn't look like nothing. It looked like something, like 'serious' something. How long has _that _been going on? Also, by the way, just as a side note, if he hurts you, I'm deep-frying him. Tempura style and all. I will not hesitate to do it, either."

A tiny smile escaped from Harper's lips as her eyes remained glued to a crack on the ground.

"And this Justin thing… ew, but whatever. Just… I don't know. Talk to him. Get some things off of your chest. You can even drown him in that pool over there, for all I care, as long as you talk to him. Just… get him off of that long list of frustrations that you've been having. Please?" Alex angled her head to meet Harper's eyes. "For yourself. And for me because, I swear to all that is holy, I am very close to dropping him in a volcano if he doesn't leave me alone."

Harper glanced at Justin. He was looking at them curiously. His brows were furrowed, probably wondering what they were whispering about.

She bit her lower lip as she felt a slight flutter in her stomach at his expression. She was familiar with that expression. She used to see it often. Back then, whenever he would visit her at her school, he used to stand afar from her work area before making his presence known. He always thought that she didn't notice him, but she did. He used to always just stand at a distance, staring at her with that same look on his face. His brows would furrow, his lips would press together into a thin line, and his gaze would sharpen with contemplation. It was his way of trying to understand what she does. Harper knew to pay attention whenever he gave that expression, because it usually meant that he had questions. She remembered savoring those moments when he was the one who held questions for her, instead of the other way around. Considering how much of a genius he was, those rare moments of his naiveté made her feel like they were on equal grounds.

She considered Alex's request, and with a slight nod, she expressed slowly and quietly, "I guess, well, it couldn't hurt to—"

"Great! Thanks for understanding!" Alex exclaimed. She clapped her hands together, and suddenly disappeared with a blinding flash of light.

Harper cursed under her breath as she tried to ignore that strange looks that she was receiving, possibly from people who noticed the flash of light that seemed to come from nowhere. "Should'a known she'd pull something like that," she muttered. She turned slowly, knowing and sensing that he was still looking at her.

As expected, he was staring at her, although with a more nervous expression on his face. He was standing closer to her now, as if he started walking towards her but hesitated, and then stopped all together. His hands were hanging loosely by his sides, another indication of his uneasiness. He seemed to be battling with himself over a decision that he couldn't make.

Finally, Harper took pity on him as she approached him. Her steps were slow and careful. She tried to maintain his gaze as she walked, but when she found that she couldn't, she let her eyes wander around. Cautious, brown eyes seemed to pierce through her, asking silent questions that she wasn't ready to answer.

When she finally reached him, that oh-so-familiar flutter in her stomach came back. And by the look on Justin's face, it was probable that he was experiencing the same reaction to being at such close proximity to her.

Harper swallowed the saliva that had built up in her throat. She took a deep breath before speaking. "I'm, uh, running low on my caffeine intake," she started slowly. "Would you like to, um—" she stammered, but stopped momentarily when too much saliva seemed to gather in her throat again. She cleared her throat. "Wanna join me for some… coffee?"


	27. Chapter 27

Disclaimer: I do not own Wizards of Waverly Place. No profit is being made from releasing this fictional story.

Author's Note: Another chapter? Woot woot! Everyone has been so cool for keeping up with this story. I'm sorry it has taken this long to get this far though. I'm just being extra careful because I don't want to mess it up.

Anyhoo, I hope you all enjoy yet another installment to our oh-so-long story. Let's read on!

**A Familiar Pattern 27**

**By genielou**

Justin shuffled his feet as he stood awkwardly behind Harper. After walking with uneasy silence for an entire block, Harper and Justin finally reached their destination: a small outdoor bar hidden within what looked to be a very shady alley (no matter what Harper had assured him otherwise). He glanced over his shoulder and eyed a young couple making out by a far wall, seemingly right next to an old woman beggar. _Really? On broad daylight?_, thought Justin.

"_Bonjour. Deux café, s'il vous plait." _He heard Harper say to the man behind the counter. The way her tone would slightly deepen with her enunciations was like an exotic sound to his ears. He was so enamored by her speech that he found himself concentrating on every _–eu _and _–ou _that she made.

_Oh yeah, bring on the French fantasies. Repressed much?, _he scolded himself in his head.

"_Merci beaucoup. Non, garder les pieces_," Harper said as she was handed two cups of coffee.

Justin shook himself from his reverie to take the tall Styrofoam cup from her. He stared at it momentarily as she tended to her own, adding the appropriate amount of cream and sugar. "Listen, Harper," he started. "Maybe—I mean, you don't have to, you know… We don't have to do this. Alex got you stuck here, but I'd be more than happy to just flash you back home… or wherever…"

"You want to get rid of me already?" she quipped as she proceeded to choose a plastic stirrer for her coffee without looking to him. "Correction: you'd be _more than happy _to get rid of me?"

"Wha—no… that's not what I—"

"J, k, Justin. Joke. Loosen up, will you?" Harper smirked as she took a sip of her coffee, grimaced, then ripped open two packets of sugar. "We're already here. Might as well stay and try to enjoy ourselves. Besides… you've been wanting to talk to me for quite a while now, if those daily gifts are anything to go by. Now would be as good a time as any."

Justin winced at her tone; he couldn't quite determine what sort of mood she was in. Was she irritated? Was she agreeable with being there with him? He wasn't sure if she was being sharp or nonchalant about the whole situation. Either way, his ears caught the slight accusation in her choice of words. "Yeah, but I was hoping that when we do get to… uh… talk, we'd do it during dinner… maybe. And then take a walk somewhere nice. Maybe a park. Ice cream would be nice too, if we happen to run into some…"

Harper raised her eyebrows. "Like a date?"

Justin guffawed. "Ha—what? No! Not like a date! Wha—huh- what makes you think that?"

"Your description sounds an awful lot like a date."

"Pshh, well, um," he stuttered, at the same time wishing that he could hit himself. But the slight change in her demeanor made him stop from reprimanding himself. The corner of Harper's lips twitched to a slight smile, lifting the thick air around them. Justin couldn't help but smile in return.

She led him to a terrace area occupied by other locals, consisting mostly of people their age. Justin glared at one man in particular whose eyes lingered on Harper a bit too long.

Harper giggled. "Down, boy. I'm an engaged woman. They don't bother me."

Justin nodded as he sat down across from her, eyes automatically glancing at the diamond ring on her finger. It was an extremely large elephant of a subject and he didn't know how to approach it. Alex had warned him beforehand about Andy, and Justin had a fair share of questions that were still unanswered. _Andy. Right! Isn't that a girl's name? _Justin scoffed in his mind.

An uncomfortable silence ensued afterwards while Harper took small sips from her coffee, and Justin tried to look at anything but her. She could only smirk as she realized this.

"You're still the same," she said quietly. When Justin raised his eyebrows to indicate for her to repeat herself, she only shook her head in response. "I heard form Alex that you're a professor now," she substituted. "Physics, right? And something… Council-related?"

"Uh, yeah," he answered. "Chancellor of Magic and Mortal Affairs—"

"Quite a mouthful."

"—and Wiztech Headmaster."

She raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Three jobs? Do you even sleep anymore?"

"You're not the first person to say that to me," he chuckled lightly. "I could ask the same of you. Your own clothing line? An international series of boutiques? Alex told me that she often has to make an appointment just to see you."

"I don't know why she says that. It's only when she's behaving generously. She mostly just flashes in and out of wherever I am at. Kind of irritating, really," she said, causing both of them to laugh. The awkwardness between them dissipated, and they looked at each other like the old friends that they were. "It seems that what we know of each other's recent lives came from Alex. I wonder how accurate her information is."

Justin grinned. "Maybe... we should test it?"

Harper's smile grew as she leaned her elbows on the table. "Alright, let's play true or false. Me first. You hate being a Physics professor."

Justin scoffed. "False! I love Physics. Can't get enough of it. Alex is the one who hates anything science." Harper giggled. "Okay, my turn. You… don't drink watermelon slushies anymore. True or false?"

"True, I traded it for coffee," she confirmed with a nod as she gestured to her cup. They continued in this manner: asking harmless questions and reconfirming habits, likes, and dislikes. The atmosphere seemed to lighten even more until Harper's expression suddenly turned stern. "You've been investigating me. True or false?"

Justin nearly choked on his drink. "What—How did you—"

"Alex. Remember? Our third-party snoop?" she said with a knowing smirk.

"Right, right," he nodded as he made a mental note to strangle his sister when he sees her next. He cleared his throat before answering. "Uhm, well, true, I suppose. I wasn't investigating _you_, per se… just your business. Your clothes looked too similar—no, actually, they looked accurately similar to what Wizards and Magical creatures wear… which, now that I think about it, makes a whole lot of sense. Nonetheless, it was suspicious. My department had to look into it. But, that was before I knew that you were behind it…"

Harper watched with amusement as Justin rubbed the back of his neck nervously, which was an action that she was well acquainted with. She shook her head lightly. "That is actually the reason why I stayed away from the media. I didn't want to attract the _wrong_ kind of attention." She took a sip from her cup before continuing. "So… what now? Are you going to turn me in? Lock me up in magical jail or something?"

There was no condescension in her tone; but more of sincere curiosity as to what her fate would be. There was even a hint of apprehension. Justin just smiled. "Well, in light of some new information that I have gathered recently… it is conclusive that the clothes produced by _Finkie _was not released with any sort of direct intent to attack or offend the Wizarding Community. So… you're safe."

Harper sighed, but hid it with a nod. "Has my identity been provided to the Council?"

Justin shook his head. This seemed enough for Harper as she responded with a curt nod.

"Is it my turn now?" Justin asked. Harper took a deep breath as she anticipated his next question. "Who are you engaged to?"

Harper raised an eyebrow. "That's not a true or false question."

"Yeah, well, I thought I'd spice things up a bit," Justin countered with shrug, suddenly finding the courage to initiate what he had been waiting so long to discuss with her. "Alex has graciously informed me that you are dating someone of… _magical_… origins?"

The corners of Harper's lips lifted. "Yes. Andy. An Atlantean."

"Huh, a fish man," said Justin, to which Harper scowled. "Now, correction me if I'm wrong, and I hope that this doesn't come off as spiteful as it does in my head, but… didn't you leave me because I'm a Wizard? Because of my Wizards responsibilities? My _magical _Wizards responsibilities?"

Harper's scowl did not lift. If anything, it was turning into a full-on glare. She knew where this was going and she was not happy about it.

Justin just smirked in return. It was like a damn had opened within himself. The mention of _Finkie _and his long investigation regarding the company immediately reminded him of how stupid he had felt when he found out who was behind it all, and how oblivious he had been to all of the clues that was right in front of his eyes. The agitation and stress he was put under when he started the investigation, the climactic conclusion, and the additional revelations that came with it. He tried to make peace with it all, but one thing… one damning, confusing thing just kept laughing at his face, and he couldn't help but bring it up now.

"And now-" Justin continued, "- you're engaged to a fish man—"

"Atlantean."

"- A _magical _fish man," Justin finished without even blinking at her correction.

The expression on Harper's face hardened. "You should really stop while you're ahead because your foot is so deep in your mouth, you might start choking any time soon."

Her warning dripped with disdain, and yet, Justin still didn't back down. "The whole point of talking is so that we can resolve things. To _talk _it out. So… let's _talk_ it out. Right now." Justin crossed his arms over his chest, almost as a challenge to her. "Oh, and congratulations, by the way. Glad to know that you found someone more worthy of yourself than me. Me and my _magical _self."

Her face reddened with rage and without another word, Harper stood from her seat so quickly that she jostled the table and knocked their coffee cups over. She turned and strode away as fast as she could, desperate to find a way to escape from him.

"Wow, this feels like _de ja vu_. You're walking away from me again. Classic!" he yelled as he immediately followed suit. "Do you know how long I searched for you? How long I drove myself nuts looking for you? The least you could do now is actually tell me why. Heaven forbid that you do that—"

"You know damn well why I left!" She screamed as she suddenly turned to him. Curious eyes swarmed in their direction and Harper had to bite her lip to control herself. "_This _is what I get for trying to act civil with you? I didn't have to stay, you know. I could've just gone home. I could've just kept ignoring those stupid flowers and coffees and—and—chocolates that you keep sending!"

Justin scoffed. "You live well outside the city. You had no choice _but _to stay here. Were you gonna walk? Good luck! It would've taken you a week!"

Harper gritted her teeth as she surrendered to his earlier questions. "What good would it have done either of us if I had stayed with you? You're a Wizard. I'm a mortal. According to your people's primitive—"

"Primitive?!"

"Yes! Primitive! According to your _primitive_ rules, I'm not even supposed to stand anywhere near you—"

"We could have found a way around tha—"

"Did you?" she screamed again. Despite the language difference, bystanders still chose to stare at them, curious as to what they were arguing about. "How long has it been, Justin? Five years? Give or take, maybe six… seven years, even? Assuming that you searched for me for the first two years, what exactly did you plan on doing once you found me?"

Justin was taken aback. He remained silent as he thought back to that time, when he was desperate to find her again. He couldn't quite answer her question.

"Was there a solution to our dilemma? Did you think of one? Were you going to propose it to me when you found me? Huh? Was that going to be your selling point?" she spat, her lower lip quivering all the while.

"That's beyond the point," he tried to counter. "If you had just stayed, I would've figured something out."

"No, you wouldn't have. You wouldn't have figured anything out. There was no solution short of either you giving up your powers or eloping with me, which would most likely have been useless anyway, given the fact that our bounty hunters would have a magical advantage! There was no way around it!"

Justin's expression fell as he took in how upset she was. Harper's face had turned pink and her eyes were glistening. It was clear that all of his pent-up emotions were reciprocated in her own ways.

She bit her lip in an attempt to control herself. "The way you're acting right now is a complete opposite to your recent gestures… Why even send those, huh? Were you trying to catch me off guard or something? Make a girl feel like she's on top of the world, and then, when she least expects it, suddenly push her off the ledge?"

Justin's eyebrows furrowed as his eyes followed the single tear that finally escaped from the corner of her eye. It left a soft trail along her cheeks, and quickly disappeared underneath her jaw. He sighed heavily as he looked at her, trying to convey his frustration. "Don't—don't do… that… please stop crying," he said quietly. She rids herself of the slight tears by harshly swiping a hand across her eyes. "Let's… let's start over…"

He waits for her to calm herself, then continues only when her chest stopped rising from her rapid breathing. "I guess," he started with a small voice, "I guess… when I sent those, uh, flowers and coffees and… chocolates… I was envisioning the Harper that I used to know. The sweet, shy Harper who drank watermelon slushies almost every day." He shook his head lightly as he remembered his past with amusement. "That Harper… _my _Harper… I miss her. I still miss her."

He risked a step towards her. Surprisingly, she didn't move. She just stared at him with eyes slightly widened, as if a revelation had just hit her. "I'm sorry," he continued. "I didn't mean to… It's just that… when it comes to you… I really do try to make sense of everything. And when I can't, I get really, really… annoyed?"

Harper's brows lifted. "Asshole-y?'

Justin smiled slyly. "Ridiculous?"

Harper nodded, the stress on her forehead already starting to loosen. "How about 'condescending'?"

"Harsh, but alright," Justin winced. "Daring?"

"Yeah, no," Harper chuckled at their exchange of banters. "Illogical."

"Okay, you win. I think illogical hits it right on the money," he grinned. And just like that, they were back to being their old selves again.

Justin and Harper, the childhood friends.

Justin and Harper, the best of friends.

Justin and Harper, the lovers…

They both laughed good-naturedly. The people staring at them just looked on as if they were witnessing two crazy people in a theater play. Soon, and before Justin could control himself, he instinctively lifted a hand to Harper's face. His thumb gently ran across her lower lip.

Harper stiffened momentarily at the gesture, but a small part of her relaxed at the familiarity of his touch. Her breathing hitched as a blush threatened to show on her cheeks.

"You know how people say that we eventually get over certain things?" he offered quietly. "I'm pretty sure that I'm not over it yet. Not entirely."

Harper frowned as she listened.

"Everything has changed. I'm willing to accept that much…" he said, his hand now ghosting the outline of her ear. "Actually, I've been slowly trying to accept the whole engagement thing since I found out about it."

He ran his hand through her hair before finally retreating it to his side. Harper had a hard time ignoring the growing coldness that replaced it.

"I don't know if I'll ever be okay with seeing you be with someone else, but I can promise you that I'll try. I'll try very hard," he declared, already feeling himself getting miserable as he carried on with the speech that he practiced for almost a week, in the hopes that he would be able to tell it to her in person. "The thing is that, even if you don't want to be with me anymore, and I completely understand that… I still feel like, throwing away over two decades of friendship, and then more, would be too tragic of a waste. So… Harper Finkle… I have a _proposition_ for you."

Harper suddenly perked up in attention as she anticipated what Justin had to say. Her eyes twinkled a little at his choice of words, which she concluded as his attempt at teasing her for her earlier muses.

"Friends. That's all I'm asking of you. Let's pick up where we left off before things became complicated between us," he offered. "I'll be me, Justin Russo, your best friend's older brother that you've known since you were three years old; and you'll be you, Harper Finkle, my sister's best friend who I've known since I was four. I'll support you in whatever you do. Being a workaholic, not drinking watermelon slushie, being engaged to… him…"

Silence followed as Justin let his words hang in the air. Harper could only look at him in stillness as she tried to contemplate what he was asking of her. It seemed too good to be true: for him to re-enter her life with the promise of non-complications.

"You'll be okay with my getting married? To Andy?" she asked quietly, hopefully.

A few seconds passed before Justin shook his head slowly. "I don't know. I don't think so," he answered. "But… I've already spent so many years being miserable because you weren't around. And ever since you showed up again… it feels like my days suddenly have purpose. Cheesy, I know, but it's true!" he exclaimed as he noticed the tiny smile tugging at her lips. "I shave now. I mean everyday, not just once a week like before… I actually cleaned my apartment, which is a feat, considering how dirty it's been since, like, two years ago… And I actually cooked. I cooked! Last night, I boiled water and treated myself to some instant noodles!"

Harper couldn't stop herself from laughing out loud. Soon, Justin had joined her as well. The tension lifted from their shoulders and they smiled sincerely at each other.

"I would rather that you are in my life… as a friend… than not have you at all," he said slowly, being careful not to reveal too much of his true feelings.

She maintained her smile as she nodded. Disregarding the faint hint of sadness in Justin's eyes, she offered her hand to him as a friendly gesture. He shook it eagerly.

Their friendship restarted from there and continued strongly for the oncoming months. Justin had thought that the situation would be worse for him, being the man of unrequited emotions; but he took what he could get in happy strides. Harper, with her renewed relationship to Justin, started to show it in how she approached her days. She became more upbeat, more optimistic, and less of the crazy businesswoman that she was before.

Andy was not completely oblivious to it. Soon, he slowly became more curious. And more suspicious…


	28. Chapter 28

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Wizards of Waverly Place. No profit is being made from releasing this fictional story.

**Author's Note: **Yay! Another chapter! Very short so I'm posting this sooner that I usually would.

Let's read on!

**A Familiar Pattern 28**

**By genielou**

Andy was not stupid. No. Far from it. Years of dealing with dangerous sea creatures and eager fishermen had earned him his fair shares of scars and sense of street smarts. So when his fiancée, a woman that he has known for over six years, started becoming distracted, distant, and almost always absent, he couldn't help but take great notice.

It wasn't as if she wasn't like that before. Despite her usually soft demeanor, Harper was a go-getter. She always dedicated more than she was capable of offering to all of her projects; a feat that Andy always admired, and that was why he never questioned her busy schedule. But in the past, she had always tried to balance her schedule with his to ensure that they were able to spend some time together. Lately, she had not even bothered. She hadn't tried. The first few times, Andy thought that she had just forgotten. But after fifteen more times, Andy decided that it was becoming far too consistent to be coincidental.

He could hardly be blamed when he became suspicious. He became weary of her endless list of excuses, of her constant absences, and of her lack of awareness to his presence. So after days of debating, Andy finally decided to investigate, which is what led Andy to stand in the office area of Harper's warehouse studio in the middle of a Saturday afternoon.

Normally, Andy wouldn't even think of setting foot in the warehouse without Harper's knowledge and permission. He was very careful with maintaining their boundaries, making sure that she never felt pressured or suffocated around him. Most of Harper's secret endeavors seem to be based in the studio though so Andy decided to start there. His eyes scanned his surroundings, looking for any slight clues as to what the mortal had been up to. The usual clutter filled his view: tables full of sewing tools, scissors, and fabric; mannequins half-dressed with in-progress creations; and drawings propped on easels, filled with corrections, doodles, and cursive scrawls.

_She's been busy_, he confirmed. He released a sigh of relief as he finally diminished the theory that she had been lying whenever she dismissed him for work-related things. He shook his head lightly in reprieve—ashamed that he had doubted her—and was on his way out when something caught his eye.

The table filled with untouched gifts… the one that he paid close attention to every time he visited… has been renewed with newer, fresher gifts. Not strange at first glance as he could easily assume that the gifts had resumed again, but this time, the gifts were more—_arranged? _

Andy's mind raced a mile a minute as he took in every detail of what he was seeing. Previously, that table would just be a complete mess. Whatever gift Harper received, she would simply discard onto the table, not caring if a cup or two would topple over and spill onto the other boxes of chocolates. Now, the flowers seem to be arranged by color… yellow sunflowers were grouped with white daisies and pale chrysanthemums; blue dandelions were set right next to a single violet gumamela; and a potted batch of azaleas was sitting beside a vase of… _Are those roses? _He narrowed his eyes as he approached what looked to be the freshest of all the flowers on the table.

Roses.

Red roses, to be precise.

He squinted as he quickly counted the fully-bloomed atrocities, still bunched in a red ribbon despite the white, porcelain vase that held it.

"Twelve," Andy gritted through his teeth. "Exactly one dozen roses."

Suddenly, other little things around the office became alarmingly out of place in his eyes. The boxes of chocolates that used to pile up without being touched were now in various trash cans around the room, all of which have been opened and emptied. There was an open box on her desk and half of its contents were gone. Numerous disposable coffee cups were on various tables and stools, most of which bared an insignia that he was not familiar with. He knew of all the coffee shops nearby, long ago familiarizing himself when he found her to be addicted to the stuff. None of the cups that now littered the room resembled what he usually provided for her. Which bodes the question: where had she been getting her coffee from, and how?

One cup in particular caught his eye. It was bright red and sitting obnoxiously on her desk, near the monitor of her computer. Frowning, he walked towards it and picked it up. It was weighty, half-full, and looked to be almost abandoned. And it wasn't coffee.

Andy's frown deepened as he eyed the straw sticking out from the plastic lid. He lifted the lid slightly and leaned his nose into it. With a slow sniff, he determined that it smelled like… watermelon? Not necessarily watermelon, but watermelon-like. It smelled overwhelmingly sweet, leading him to belief that the flavor was merely artificial. Still, it was strange that anything but water or coffee would be in this office at all. And by the shade of the lipstick that stained the tip of the straw, Andy was very sure that Harper was the one who had been drinking it.

_Weird_, he thought.

And then, he saw it. If it weren't for his sharp eyes, he wouldn't have caught it. Yet, there it was, a very tiny, white triangle sticking out from underneath the black keyboard. He slowly lifted the device, careful not to bother too much of the other gadgets that it was connected to (Harper has a knack for being essentially organized with her mess and that's why he never tried to clean for her). The white triangle grew into a whole, turning out to be a picture… or, _pictures_. He pulled it out, and upon closer look, saw that it was a strip taken from a photo booth. Exactly five, squared photographs grinned up at him, and he couldn't help the widening of his eyes as he took it all in.

There, in five 2-inch by 2-inch squares were five different smiles and expressions from the same two faces; one of whom he was engaged to marry to, and the other of whom he was quite familiar with.

It took great restraint for Andy to not crumple the photograph in his hands. His arm shook slightly in anger, not willing to believe what he was seeing.

The evidence piled up and it was unmistakable. The unfamiliar coffee cups… the gifts that laid untouched, and now suddenly overruled the space that she worked in… her absence, her lack of attention… the slight skip in her step despite the evident fatigue in her posture… lately, she had been smiling more, and Andy just took it as a sign of success in her current endeavors, her career; an advancement, maybe? A new design completed? But no, it was none of those. Her good mood, and the way she would unexpectedly space out over a memory that Andy assumed that he was a part of… was actually because of _him_. _Him! _How _he _had suddenly entered her life again, Andy wasn't sure, but he was definitely NOT happy about it.

His glare intensified as his eyes seemed to burn a hole on the picture. Five squares of him and her, with faces squished together and grinning like carefree children; it was too much for Andy to handle. He had thought that she preferred not to dwell in her past, but it looked like he was wrong. Her past had evidently caught up with her and she seemed to be enjoying herself too.

How long had it been going on? Andy thought back to how long ago the very first set of flowers and chocolates were dropped off precariously in front of Harper's studio doorstep. That was over six months ago. Had this been going on since then? Maybe even longer than that? He couldn't even fathom the idea of it being years without his knowledge. He felt stupid and ignorant for not seeing the signs before. Her studio was as it always was; he just never paid attention to the details…

The photograph crinkled under his tight grip. Anger coursed through him as he burned the five images into his mind, memorizing every detail of it, and letting it feed the betrayal that he felt. Nevermind the sorrow that took a backseat, it was the betrayal that he was most offended by. He had been waiting for her to set a date for their wedding, and every time he pried, she would always give him an excuse. There was always an excuse.

"_The dress is not ready yet."_

"_I'm still deciding between two different venues to hold the reception."_

"_Maybe we should do it next season. It's too cold right now."_

The reasons for not proceeding was endless, and now he learns that this—THIS—was the real reason that she had kept postponing their wedding plans.

Was she having second thoughts? Because of _him_?Throughout the duration of his life, no one had even made a fool of him, and he'd be damned if he lets a Wizard—a _Wizard!— _break that streak.

His reverie is interrupted when heard the squeak of the front gates. A few seconds later, Harper came walking through the studio doors in haste. She had a stack of papers held firmly under one arm while her other hand held firmly onto a large cup of coffee and the strap of her purse.

"Oh! Hey, sweetie!" She greeted, not even noticing that he was holding the strip of photograph in his hand. She went straight to one of her work areas and dumped her load on the mahogany countertop. She shuffled through them quickly before turning to another table to shuffle through another stack of papers. "You wouldn't believe that day that I've had. I had so much planned for today but because one of the accountants from the California chain apparently entered a wrong number—of course- I had to sit through a two-hour video feed while they tried to figure out _exactly _where the mistake came from. I swear, if I wasn't so nice, I'd fire that guy. He set me way back from my schedule."

Andy tried hard to control his emotions. His eyes followed her movements carefully. "And what exactly did you plan on doing today?" he asked with a surprisingly steady voice.

"Well, I just finished three new designs and I was going to call up my production director in Paris to set up an appointment for a meeting next week. I'm really psyched about this new line and I want to try to get it launched as soon as possible. I already have a few ideas for the corresponding accessories. Can you imagine what a new release would do? I have a feeling that this could be the break that I need to penetrate the German market," she rambled on as her hands kept busy with things around the study. She hadn't even noticed the stern gaze that Andy was giving her.

"Anything for our wedding? If I remember correctly, you mentioned something about cake tasting a few weeks ago," he inquired softly, his eyebrows furrowing slightly as the pain of betrayal tried to arise from him.

"Oh yeah, that, well," she dismissed with a wave of her hand, still not looking at him, "I haven't quite scheduled it yet. I'm still not sure if I want to hire a big name or a local. I'll decide that later- maybe after I secure this launch."

Andy nodded his head slowly. He was mildly amazed with himself for maintaining a calm exterior, despite the warzone of emotions going through inside of him. His lips firmed into a straight line before he spoke again, all the while allowing his eyes to strain intensely on the images in his hands. His voice was so soft that he almost didn't recognize what came out of his mouth. "I'm taking over the wedding arrangements."

This immediately stopped Harper on her tracks. She stood stiffly in place as her fingers loosened on a stack of papers that she was skimming through. They fluttered to the floor, some floating momentarily in the air before scattering to the ground.

Her brows furrowed. When she turned, mouth slightly open to protest, her eyes widened and her throat abruptly dried. The pupils of her eyes swayed as she tried to make sense of what she was seeing: her current fiancé, standing by her desk, holding what she knew to be evidence of her recent adventures with her past love affair. Her mind raced as she tried to think of what to say, but all she could come out with was, "Wh—what?"

"I'm taking over the wedding arrangements," he repeated, his voice was steady and calm; unruffled as he finally let the now wrinkled photograph go. It fell with a whispered flop on top of the keyboard. "You've been so busy lately. I think it'd be best if I take some of the load off of your shoulders. So I'm taking over the wedding arrangements."

Her brain seems to finally catch up with her as her eyes followed the movement of his hands; firstly brushing his fingers against the desk before falling to his sides. "Andy," she started, a hint of pleading in her tone. "It's not what you think. I can explain—"

"There's nothing to explain," he interrupted her. He walked around the desk and approached her in long strides, all the while looking at her as if his stare was keeping her physically stable in his present reality. He placed his hands on her shoulders, and noticed with slight grimace how she stiffened and gulped. "I love you. I want to be with you. And I want to marry you. We've been arranging this wedding for what feels like forever; and I believe that it is because you are tiredly unavailable for many of the required arrangements." He scoffed in his mind before regaining his composure and continuing. "I'll be taking over from here on out. Feel free to go about your usual. But leave the wedding to me."

Her mouth opened and closed a few times, unsure of what to say. Finally, she took her time gathering enough saliva into her throat and asked, "Do y—How would- I mean, we haven't even set a date yet. There's no hurry. If you just let me take care of a few more things, then I'll be free to concentrate on the wedding stuff."

Andy shook his head slowly. "No. I'm taking over," he said with finality. Then, with an even more determined look in his eyes, "Two weeks. I'm setting the date to two weeks from now."

"What?" she exclaimed, her eyes widened again. "Andy, please, can we talk about this?"

The reaction only worked against her as Andy's expression looked to harden from her. He was about to say more, maybe to start accusing her, but the sound of barking suddenly filled the air.

"_Who let the dogs out? Woof! Woof woof!"_

He frowned as his eyes searched for the source of the ridiculous song, taking note of the fact that Harper had changed her ringtone without his knowledge. He eyed the purse that Harper abandoned on one of her work tables, looked at her, and then finally released her to walk quickly towards the bag. He picked it up roughly, rummaged through its contents a few moments before finally clasping his hands around a cell phone. His eyes narrowed and his face turned red upon seeing the displayed picture on the screen that indicated who was calling. Time seemed to stop and Harper felt like her heart would jump out of her chest as she watched Andy activate her phone.

"_Harper! Great! I'm glad I caught you!" _the voice on the other end immediately rattled on cheerfully, not even letting Andy answer. _"Listen, I'm neck-deep in paperwork at the moment. The council unexpectedly dropped by and demanded a whole week's worth of reports to be submitted by tomorrow morning so I'm proofreading like crazy. Is it okay if we postpone coffee tonight? Just for a few hours, I promise. Oh, and I can flash you here. That diner around the corner from the SubStation—remember? Phil's Diner? They have good pie and today feels like a pie kind of day."_

Andy's lips pressed together into a firm line.

"_Harper?"_

He took a huge breath before answering. "Consider your date cancelled. Harper will be busy tonight."

And without another word, Andy disconnected the line. He dropped the phone onto the desk carelessly before facing her again. "Collect the contacts that you've gathered for the wedding, and everything else that you've started so far. I'll be back later to take them."

If she had anything else to say on the matter, he didn't hear it. He just walked out and slammed the door behind him.


	29. Chapter 29

Disclaimer: I do not own Wizards of Waverly Place. No profit is being made from releasing this fictional story.

Author's Note: Another chapter proofread and done! I'm sure there are bound to be a few mistakes, but please be forgiving?

Let's read on!

**A Familiar Pattern 29**

**By genielou**

"The white one. With the three layers. It'll do."

Harper scrunched her nose as Andy pointed to one of the pictures of wedding cakes laid out in front of them. She eyed another picture longingly—one that had an array of pastel-colored frosting and bright yellow birds on thin sticks erected on various parts of the cake, making them seem like they're dancing around the miniature representatives of an embracing newly-wed couple. She reached out and allowed her fingers to ghost the surface of glossy image, before retreating it back upon the scowl that her soon-to-be-husband directed to her.

They were both situated in the admitting area of her studio office. Ten days has passed since they have both been in that very same building together, arguing over Andy's decision to suddenly take control over the wedding arrangements. Needless to say, Andy won the argument and their current meeting with her personal assistant, Ella, who drove for three hours from the city just to discuss with them the finalities of all wedding-related things. The poor thing… Andy phoned her the previous night, demanding to review everything that they have organized hastily for the past few days. She only had a limited time to gather boxes full of things to present to him. By the time that Andy and Harper had sat down on the couch, the coffee table was already stacked with many items ranging from papers and pictures, to strips of fabrics and fake flower petals.

"Sorry," Harper breathed out as she rested her hand on her lap while averting her eyes away from the growing annoyance in his demeanor.

Andy smiled stiffly while his eyes glanced at Ella, who sat on the ottoman directly across from them. She shifted in her seat, looking uncomfortable at the subtle unhappy exchanges that Harper and Andy seemed to dance around for the past three hours. He gave a stern nod to Ella, indicating for her to move on to the next set of topics to be addressed. With a nervous frown, Ella quickly jotted down a few notes on her notepad before putting away the cake pictures and replacing them with another set of pictures. She took out her pad again and turned a few pages.

Harper's eyes widened as she took in the pictures of bridal gowns. A slight feeling of anger threatened to arise as she contemplated the newly discovered fact that she will not be choosing her own dress.

"Alright, these are the few that I thought were similar to what Ms. Finkle usually wears," she said slowly. She narrowed her eyes and adjusted her glasses to the bridge of her nose as she scrutinized her own handwriting. "That one on the left is a Vera Wang… over there is Coco Chanel… uhm, that—that is a Lacroix—I really like that one. A lot of layers and just the slightest hint of pinks and yellows—"

"No. No, these won't do," Andy interrupted with a shake of his head. "Too—too much. Her gown needs to be white. Plain white. Simple. And pure white, not off-white."

"Uh—uhm," Ella stammered. Her eyes immediately scanned the other boxes on the floor. She dropped her pad on the table as she frantically reached into the boxes and began digging through the folders within it.

Harper turned pleading eyes towards Andy. "I really like the Lacroix, Andy," she began. "It suits me. I'm sure he'd be willing to tone it down to a complete white if I ask him nicely." Her eyes glanced at the picture of the dress; the corner of her lips rose slightly at the thought of wearing it.

Andy frowned. His lips thinned to a firm line as he shook his head. "No time. You're wearing something that is already made. No adjustments."

Her brows met as she scowled at him. She would've glared if she didn't suspect that they would get into another heated argument over it. With a huge sigh, she leaned back onto the couch defeatedly and looked sympathetically at her secretary.

Ella re-emerged from her digging and plopped a folder onto the table. She took a picture out of it, hesitated, and then placed it onto the table for them to see. "Um, this? Very simple. A Justin Alexander, from his fall 2012 line. Mermaid with a medium train… fully-sequined but only two layers, and then a third layer of lace."

Harper shook her head. "I don't like lace. It makes me look too much like a sai—"

"It's perfect," Andy cut in. His eyes focused on Ella and didn't spare any attention to Harper at all. Order her size, and ask to have a lace cover for her hair as well."

This time, Harper couldn't help but glare. "You want me to look like Mother Theresa?"

One look. That was all he gave her before turning back to Ella again. "Let's continue," he said. Harper huffed before crossing her arms over her chest and leaning back onto the couch again.

They continued in that manner for another three hours, exhausting her assistant immensely. Andy insisted on moving from one subject to another without pause, and never offered a break to neither of the ladies. Harper knew Andy to have amazing stamina (their intimate times together had been proof of that), and wondered momentarily if that same stamina translated to regular activities, like having the patience to sit still for hours and make serious decisions. She only entertained this for a good ten seconds, and then concluded that Andy was merely motivated into acting like as much of a jerk as he possibly could. By early afternoon, they had finalized the venue arrangements, guest-seating, color themes, dresses, tuxedos, and everything else. Harper had no say in anything whatsoever.

"Alright, I think that's all of it," Ella sighed with relief. She made a few final notes in her notepad, placed it onto the coffee table, and started putting things back into their designated piles and boxes. "Whew, that was a lot."

Andy nodded as he stood to pick up her notepad. He flipped through the pages and eyed each sheet with approval. "The rehearsal dinner is taken cared of, right? I emailed you a list of what I wanted last Tuesday."

Ella looked up briefly from her task. "Um, yes, sir. Everything is set. I have a meeting with the event coordinator for the hotel tomorrow morning to make the final deposit."

"What? Rehearsal dinner?" Harper exclaimed, and then lightly winced at the high pitch of her voice.

"Good," Andy said, completely ignoring Harper. He dropped the pad onto the table with a loud plop, turned, and walked away towards the kitchen area.

Harper quickly followed him in fast strides. She allowed the door to close behind them before whispering with a hiss. "Rehearsal dinner? When?"

Andy spared her a glance while he took a bottle of water out of the refrigerator. "Tomorrow night."

Her eyes widened and her eyebrows shot up. "Tomorrow night?" she exclaimed. "And you didn't think to tell me this sooner?"

"I didn't think there'd be problem with it. We _are _getting married, after all," he countered. He drank from the bottle thirstily, finishing it with a huge sigh. With six hours of limited water-intake, it was a surprise that he was still standing.

"Well, what am I supposed to wear? And how about my parents? And the Russo's? They can't fly here at the last minute. Even if they miraculously find a last minute flight and leave tonight, that's still not enough time for them to situate themselves and attend," she said, all in one breath. "And my business partners? They're very busy people. A week's notice wouldn't be enough for them to attend."

Andy waited for Harper's little panic attack to subside. He calmly answered, "Your parents are already here. They arrived yesterday and are situated at the Hilton in Paris. They're currently enjoying the scenery with their tour guide and will be expecting a car to pick them up for the dinner tomorrow. Mr. and Mrs. Russo, Max, and Alex will be arriving tomorrow by flashing. And your business partners have been notified that they are no longer invited. You have decided to have a very small, intimate wedding ceremony so only family and very close friends are invited."

Her eyebrows rose. "And you just decided this without consulting me? How about Jean? Or Pierre and Michelle? If it weren't for them, I wouldn't be where I am now. They should be there when I get married."

Andy shrugged nonchalantly. "No room. I'm sure they'll understand."

Her jaw dropped at the lack of care in Andy's voice. She was about to retort but thought best of it at the last second. Taking a deep breath, she allowed for a few moments to pass as Andy took a cup from the cupboard and filled with coffee.

"Andy," she started, her voice soft and gentle. "Can we please talk?"

He took a sip and savored the hot beverage going down his throat before answering. "We've already talked."

Harper sighed. "Andy, please. There is nothing going on between me and Justin. Trust me. I would never do that. I would never even consider it."

"Right," he scoffed. "Okay."

"Andy."

"Harper," he matched her tone. "Just the fact that you even talk to him is already a consideration. Your rekindling your friendship is even more. It's an insult to me. To _us._"

"_Nothing _is going on with me and him!"

"It doesn't matter!" Andy yelled back. A tiny crack appeared on his cup as his grip unconsciously tightened. The white of his knuckles ceased as he carefully placed the cup onto the kitchen counter and heaved a huge groan. "I'm tired of this. Why can't you understand—"

"Why can't _you _understand?" she countered. She stepped closer to him and grabbed both of his hands. "Andy, I love you. I. Love. _You_. Justin is just my friend. Those few times that we hung out were just that: _hanging out_. Nothing more. Why is it such a big deal?"

"It's a big deal because you didn't tell me," he countered. "It's a big deal because you used to love him, and he loved you."

"_Loved_. Past tense. We're nothing now," she said as softly as she could.

Andy shook his head. "Then why keep it a secret from me?"

Harper furrowed her brows. "I didn't think it would matter this much. He's just a friend. We hung out because work was getting hectic and I needed a break. He would show up sporadically and offer coffee, and I would accept. That is it."

Andy shook his head again. He closed his eyes momentarily, and when he looked at her, there was evident hurt in his expression. "If you needed a break, why didn't you call me?"

"I- I didn't—" she tried to answer him, but for the life of her, she didn't know how. "Andy, this is nonsense."

"No, it's not." He pulled his hands away from hers. "When the woman that I am supposed to spend the rest of my life with prefers to be in the company of some other man, it is anything but nonsense."

"I already told you that there is nothing—"

"And when she prefers to spend most of her time in her office than finalize our wedding, which is supposed to be the most important event of our lives, it is definitely _not _nonsense."

"So now you're attacking my work?" she yelled again, suddenly very irked. "You know how important my work is to me. I've spent most of my life in the shadow of someone else—my parents, Alex, those anorexic hypocrites at school, and then Justin— my clothing line, my work, is very important to me. It's what I've worked my entire life for!"

"A life that, apparently, you're having trouble fitting me in," he said quietly.

That stopped her. She wanted to say more, but the impact of what he said was too much to contemplate at that moment. Her mouth opened and closed a few times, but nothing came out.

They stayed in close proximity of each other; close in distance but not touching. He looked at her sadly while her eyebrows furrowed in worry. She was overwhelmed with emotions, and the realization that she may not be on the right side of the argument was not easy to swallow.

Before neither of them could say or do any more, the door to the kitchen swung open and a very angry brunette walked through. Her boot heels clicked loudly on the linoleum floor with every step. Andy turned to her in annoyance while Harper pressed her fingers to her forehead as she felt a migraine start to form.

"Hey! Fish Face! What the hell is going on?"

Harper sighed. "Alex, this is not a good time."

"I am so sorry, Ms. Finkle! I didn't let her in, I swear!" Ella tried to explain as she followed closely behind Alex. "She had a key!"

"Look, Glasses. The adults need to talk right now," Alex said. "Go eat a baguette or something."

"Alex!" Harper scolded at her. She had been expecting this for some time, but, honestly, Alex really does have the worst timing. She offered a sympathetic expression towards her assistant. "Thank you, Ella. Please finish packing and attend to the rest of our arrangements for the rest of the day."

With a small nod, she exited the room quickly. Hasty shuffling could be heard from the greeting area, a few thuds, and then, finally, the closing of a door. Harper took a deep breath before addressing the source of her headache. "Alex. How nice of you to visit," she greeted.

"Nuh-uh, none of that. I'm mad at you!" Alex said. "The wedding is in four days? What the frak!"

Andy stepped closer to Harper. "We've decided to push the date."

"We? Or you?" Alex asked, her voice dripping with hostility. "Somehow, this little bout of surprise has your scaly face tagged all over the fine print."

"Alex! No, Andy! Don't!" Harper exclaimed. Andy made a move towards Alex, but Harper quickly grabbed his arm and held him back. She took him by both shoulders and faced him towards her. "Andy, please! Let me take care of this, okay? Please?"

His lips firmed as he tried to keep in the nasty words threatening to escape from him. With a curt nod, he placed a kiss on her forehead, and moved away from her hold. He walked out of the kitchen, but not before directing another disdainful glare at Alex.

"That's right, buddy. Walk away before I break out the frying pan and tartar sauce!"

The door closed with a loud bang. Harper winced as she heard the bang of another door as Andy made his way out of the building, and then again as she heard the bang of the gates echo through the window. She closed her eyes for a few seconds, already anticipating the earful that she was about to receive from Alex.

"All right, Redhead. Out with it," Alex demanded. "I don't hear from you for over a week and then this? I want to know what's going on. Right now!"

Harper sighed. "Do you want details or just a summary?"

Alex frowned, contemplated the options, and then answered, "Summary first."

"Alright-y then," she nodded. "Andy found out about my hanging out with Justin, freaked out, decided to take over the wedding stuff, and finalized for our wedding to be held in two weeks. This happened last week. So… I'm getting married in four days."

Alex raised an eyebrow and looked at her intensely for a solid thirty seconds, waiting for a punch line. When nothing came, Alex frowned. "That's not funny."

"Yes, well, I don't think so either. It's so far from funny, that I feel like being a grouch about it," Harper rambled while waving her hands in the air in exasperation. "And you know what sucks about all of this? It's that I shouldn't be a grouch because this is finally happening. Because, technically, this should've happened over a year ago. By the way, that was Andy's selling point. Apparently, my dedication was so waned that he had take matters into his own hands. I can't even argue with that. I can't! Because… well… it makes sense, right? I've been holding off on our wedding for so long because I've been so busy with work. It's always work, work, work, and, before I knew it, I completely neglected him. Which is totally not cool because I know how it feels to be on that side of the schtick; and I can tell you right now, it's wretched there! And I can't beeeellliiiieeevveeee that I actually became that person. I'm _that _person!"

Both of Alex's eyebrows rose to the line of her bangs. She waited a moment for Harper's heavy breathing to subside before offering, "Okay. I really want to stay mad, but I am so confused that I'm starting to wonder if we're on the same conversation here."

Harper huffed as she walked out into the greeting area. Alex followed her and dropped herself comfortably onto the couch as Harper started pacing in front of her.

"I knew this would happen. I knew. In the back of my mind, my subconscious was nagging at me that this would happen if I suddenly started being friends with Justin again, but I ignored it. I knew, and I still let it happen…"

Alex winced. "Uh… sorry to break this to you, buddy, but I kinda knew it too. Only, I didn't think it would be because of the Justin thing," she offered, then suddenly frowned. "Now! Back to me and my being mad at you. What the freakin' donut-lovin' heck happened while I've been away? I want details now."

Harper didn't hear the rest of what Alex said past her addressing Justin's name. "What do you mean by you didn't think it would be because of Justin?"

Alex raised an eyebrow haughtily and crossed her arms. "I do believe I moved on from that topic already."

Harper challenged her by crossing her arms as well. Neither moved for a while.

Finally, Harper shook her head and sighed heavily. "Why do I even bother?" she muttered to herself. "Fine. It all started over a week ago. I found Andy in here, apparently looking through my stuff…"

The rest of Harper's day was spent explaining to Alex exactly what had happened with Andy. Every detail was covered (per insistence by Alex), and every detail was talked over (again, per insistence of Alex). For once in her life, Harper was mildly surprised at how good of a listener Alex was. For hours, Alex kept her snide remarks to herself and merely listened with the occasional nod or shake of the head. She had even flashed in a box of pizza and drinks (a bottle of scotch and a liter of Orange _Fanta_, again per Alex's insistence). They poured over Harper's frustrations and difficulties towards the entire affair; Alex had even made a slight game out of it. Everytime Harper exclaimed "Ugh!", said "Justin" or "Andy", or uttered "Why is this happening to me?", they both took of sip of their drinks. Three hours into the game, when they were both giggly, the topic slowly changed into the good ol' days when things were simpler and happier.

Harper vaguely remembered glancing at the clock at almost midnight. Although, after that, she couldn't recall exactly what time they had finally expired. All she knew was that she woke up during early afternoon the next day, sprawled on familiar cushions and covered in comfortable sheets. It was only when she opened her eyes and recognized the lime green color of her ceiling did she realized that she was in the bedroom of her apartment.

_Alex must have flashed me here, _she concluded. She blinked a few times and immediately regretted it. The sheen of the new day that shimmered through her window drapes assaulted her irises and created dots in her vision. A dulled, hazy pain slowly crept to the front of her head.

"My head… ow," she muttered as she tried to sit up. She could feel a hang-over forming. Her head felt heavy and her thinking was dazed. She needed coffee, with five times the usual amount of espresso and at least seven teaspoons of sugar.

She found Alex's note taped to the refrigerator when she rummaged through her kitchen to make the very strong coffee. The promise of Alex's return later, before going to the rehearsal dinner, reminded Harper of just that. For a decent amount of time, Harper had actually forgotten how hectic her life had become. And now that she was right back into it, her heart did not waste time before quickening its beating. Her brain joined in with bombarding her of every distinct memory of the past ten days, causing Harper's headache to heighten as well.

Harper didn't wait for the coffee to finish cooking. With a frustrated growl, she snatched the carafe from its perch and poured the coffee into her mug, while ignoring the hiss of her coffee machine as the coffee continued to drip into the hot plate of the machinery. She blew into her mug a few times before taking a sip. Just this once, she decided to neglect her usual mixtures of sugars and cream. She spent a good hour sulking by the kitchen pantry as she worked her way through a whole pot of coffee; black, all the while. She gulped down three more mugs-worth of the second pot of coffee—filled to the brim—before finally deciding to start readying herself so that she can tackle the new day.

Time seemed to go by very slow as she cleaned herself for the night's event. She took her time showering, making sure to massage the conditioner onto her hair for at least five full minutes; and took even longer time drying her hair and moisturizing her skin. Afterwards, she cleaned her bedroom, alphabetized her contacts, dusted and vacuumed the living room, and even cleared out her refrigerator. When she finally ran out of things to do, there was still four hours to go before she had to start preparing for the rehearsal dinner. She had no choice but to watch random television shows. By the third soap opera that she endured, she was ready to strangle herself.

She was just about to throw the remote at the wall when the door bell rang. Harper frowned in curiosity as she pushed herself off of the couch to answer it, and immediately smiled as Ella greeted her with a big grin.

"Ms. Finkle," she said with a slight curtsy. "I come bearing gifts."

Harper took the long, flat box from her and stood aside to let her in. "Ella, I think I've said this a million times since I hired you three years ago. It's Harper. Call me Harper. Harpie, if you want to get spunky with it."

Ella giggled as she set her purse on the coffee table. "But I like calling you Ms. Finkle. I feel like I'm Anne Hathaway when I treat you like you're a super scary, business woman."

Harper quirked an eyebrow. "You don't mean… like I'm Meryl Streep in _The Devil Wears Prada_?"

Ella's grin grew wider. "Yes!"

Harper shook her head as she smiled. _I knew I hired her for a reason_, she thought. She settled the box onto the couch, opened it, and immediately grimaced at the color that assaulted her eyes. "Is this-," she stammered as she glanced at her assistant, "is this what I'm wearing tonight?" Tiny pearl beadings swimming in the baby blue material screamed out at her as she tried to imagine herself in it. She hesitated for a moment before she hooked a finger on each sleeve and pulled the dress out of its confines. She groaned out loud as she eyed the layers of ribbons and tulle that decorated the dress's skirt area. "Why—why…"

Ella gave her a sympathetic smile. "Mr. Bisca was very specific on how he would like you to be presented." She took out her pad of paper from her bag and flipped to a specific page. "He said he wanted you to look pretty, kind, girly—"

"Girly?"

"—innocent, child-like, adorable, sweet—"

"Like a commercial for skittles?"

"—and young."

"I _am _young!" Harper exclaimed.

Ella shrugged. "I supposed he meant, um, maybe, like, younger?"

Harper made a face at her. She released the offending dress and let it drop onto the couch. "He's one to talk. Like he's not almost a hundred years old," she muttered to herself as she started heading towards the kitchen area. Ella's ears perked at the ludicrousness of what she said, but just shook her head and dismissed it. "Is there time to get my parents to come here first? I'd really like to spend some time with them before I have to get all, you know, _girly _and _young_," she said as she took a bottle of water from the refrigerator.

Ella bit her lower lip. "I don't think you'll have time for that. Ramón will be here in twenty minutes to start on your hair, and then Jeanne will do your make up."

Harper scowled. "He doesn't think the way I do my hair and make-up is _sweet_ enough?"

Ella could only shrug and avert her gaze from the daggers that Harper was directing to the rest of the world.

Two hours later, after Harper had dismissed Ella to attend to her parents' arrival at the allotted venue, she stood unmoving in front of her vanity mirror in full get-up. She stood silently as her eyes trailed along the outlines of her body. Her nose scrunched as she scrutinized herself. The sleeveless dress hung loosely past her knees and flowed like oceanic waves with her every move. The blue, although not her favorite color, complimented the light pastel pinks that had been lightly brushed on her eyes and cheeks. Her hair was pulled tightly back into a fish braid, decorated with tiny daisy-shaped clips. A few escaped strands were manipulated to shape her slightly round face. All in all, she looked… feminine, sweet, and definitely young. She cursed bitterly at the genius of her assistant. The recently-graduated fashion/business major definitely knew how to present her boss exactly the way that Andy had described. A little too well, in fact. From the pink tinge of her lips to the clear shimmer of her nails; everything about Harper exuded a 'Shirley Temple'-esque appearance.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of snickering coming from somewhere to her left. She groaned as she anticipated what was to come.

"Did I just step into a time machine and traveled to the past?" Harper heard between the snorts and giggles. She rolled her eyes as she turned, and aimed a well-deserved scowl at her best friend. "On the other hand, _that _does not compare to what you used to wear. Oh my gosh! Remember the rainbow-markers dress? That one was at a totally new level!"

Harper sighed heavily. "I look like I'm twelve years old!"

Alex scoffed. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves now," she joked. She entered the room and hopped on Harper's bed, carelessly kicking her high-heeled shoes aside. "At best, you look like you're about to celebrate your sweet sixteen. Nice job hiding your wrinkles, by the way."

"I do not have wrinkles, Alex! And thank you, by the way, for the monster headache that I had this morning," she exclaimed. She turned back to the mirror and frowned at her appearance. "This is just for one night. I can do this."

"So I'm assuming this is your hubbie's idea of a joke?" Alex inquired. "Should'a known. That scaley-faced—"

"He wanted me to look younger for his parents. More _girly,_" Harper emphasized with a gesture of her hands. "I've never met them before. I guess he just wants to make sure that their first impression of me is good."

Alex shook her head a little. "Harper, you're already so good. Their impression of you shouldn't matter."

Her lips thinned to a line as she stepped into her low-heeled sandals. "Please don't start, Alex."

"But I want to," Alex whined. She was joking, of course, and Harper knew her to do this to lighten the mood. But then a slight pause followed, and Harper didn't know how to interpret that. She saw the look of gloom in Alex's features as she said quietly, "Seriously, I really want to, but I won't. Not until you ask me to."

Harper would've asked her what she meant by that if it wasn't for the sudden ringing of her door bell. She spared her a curious glance for a few seconds, and then gathered her shawl and purse, and proceeded to walk out. Alex followed closely behind. Inches from the door, Harper suddenly stopped and took a huge breath.

"Okay… let's do this," Harper declared as she reached for the door knob.

Behind her, Alex stared sadly at the beautifully twisted braids of the redhead as she recalled in her mind the conversation that she shared with her older brother, just hours previously, in regards to her closest, bestest friend in the entire world, of who she would do anything for.


	30. Chapter 30

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Wizards of Waverly Place. No profit is being made from releasing this fictional story.

**Author's Note: **I cannot stress how thankful I am of everyone's patience. A lot of things has gotten in the way of writing this chapter (mostly school-related junk!) and I really do appreciate everyone for waiting.

And now here we are with yet another chapter to this looonnnnggg story. I swear, when I started this, I thought it would only be seven chapters long. Ten chapters, max, maybe. But look at it now! Thirty chapters and still going! Well, it's almost done, but still!

Also… 200 Reviews? Whoppers!

Now… Let's read on!

**A Familiar Pattern 30**

**By genielou**

"_No, Mom, I'm not going… Well, I wasn't invited… I never received an invita- I don't mind! Really! It's okay. I mean—we used to date, yeah. It would be inappropriate for me to attend…"_

_Justin let out an aggravated sigh as he tried to reason with his mother as to why he will not be attending Harper's Rehearsal Dinner that night. He shifted the phone on his ear to better hear her._

"_To be honest, it's better this way anyway… No, I do not want to be your plus one! No, I don't want to be Max's plus one either! Mom! No! I don't want to be anyone's plus one!"_

_He heard the shuffling of feet and turned his head in time to see his sister exit the kitchen with a bowl of sliced pickles, seeming to scrutinize each slice carefully, as if deciding which slice should be eaten first is just that important._

"_Mom, let's not talk about this anymore, okay? I'm not going. Period… Okay… Yeah, okay… Yes, I'll be fine… Alright, I love you too… Yea—yes, uh-huh… Okay, buh-bye."_

_He hung up with a firm press of a button and turned a scowl towards his sister. "Why is everyone so worried about me? So I'm not invited. Big deal."_

"_Well, it kinda _is _a big deal. You and Harper were like—" Alex made kissing sounds while pressing two slices of pickles together. "You two were like the Gomez and Bieber story of our time; which is appropriate if you think about it 'cause they broke up and so did you two. And in both case, the guy was the idiot."_

_Alex laughed as she threw a pickle in the air and caught it in her mouth._

"_Ha ha, you are sooo hilarious," Justin quipped as he pushed her feet off of the coffee table. He settled on the couch across from her. "So… are you going too?"_

"_Her right brow lifted. "D- uh. Duh. Maid of Honor, remember?" She scrunched her nose at him. "You wanna be my plus one?"_

"_How abou O? You gets me?" Justin answered sternly. A pregnant pause followed as he looked up to the ceiling with a huge sigh. "Harper is getting married soon. The proper thing to do is to stay as far away as possible."_

"_Do you really believe that, Justin? Or are you just trying to convince yourself that you believe it?"_

_Justin held up a hand to make the oncoming nagging stop, but Alex just pressed on._

"_You don't think it's weird that this rehearsal dinner came out of nowhere? We haven't even done a bachelorette party yet. It's totally strange that I don't hear from Harper for over a week, and now this!"_

_Justin stared into space and contemplated the light of the recent events. He hadn't even told Alex about the last time he tried to call Harper's cellphone, when Andy was the one to pick it up and practically declared himself as the Alpha Male. _

"_You need to tell her, Justin."_

_He frowned at her. "Don't start."_

"_I never stopped. I just paused for a bit," Alex said. She bit into a pickle slice before continuing. "She's my bestest friend in the whole wide world. I can't stand watching her make the biggest mistake of her life."_

_Justin's frown grew deeper. "Why do I get the feeling that there is something you're not telling me? Is Harper okay?"_

_Her lips pursed. "I'm sworn to secrecy, but I can tell you this: you should go talk to her. I admit that I wasn't a fan of the Jarper lovey-dovey club—"_

"_Jarper?"_

"—_but believe me when I say that I would rather she's canoodling with you than with Captain Nemo. I mean… sure, he was nice and all when I first met him, but now? He took over this whole wedding thing and now he's acting like he's the king of the sea. She doesn't get a say in anything! The venue, the date, the type of cake they're gonna eat. Even her dress—"_

"_Wait, he picked out her dress for her?" he asked incredulously. Knowing Harper, he would've thought that she would want to create her own dress, not wear a manufactured one. "Why—why did-?_

"_You! Because of you! Oh fudge! I wasn't supposed to say that!" She exclaimed as she got up from the couch and started pacing; the bowl of pickles still in her hands…_

_Justin stood from his seat as well. "Harper and I are just friends. Andy has no reason to feel threatened in any way whatsoever."_

"_Well, I hate to break it to you, but from the outside perspective, you two do NOT look like you're JUST friends."_

_Justin had to think about that for a quick minute. Yes, he and Harper had gotten back to their past ritual of enjoying each other's company, but he had been extra careful to keep his true feelings to himself. He ignored the butterflies that swarmed inside his stomach, and the blushes that threatened to turn his face into a tomato. He was even consistent with keeping at least a three-feet distance between them at all times. Where had he gone wrong?_

"_I'm going to interrupt you right now because you look like you're about to throw up from all that thinking you're doing," Alex quipped, completely stopping his train of thought. "I'll make a deal with you here. You meet with her—uh uh! This is a speech. No interruptions!"_

_He slacked his arms to his sides and closed his mouth (which was open and ready to protest)._

"_You meet with her. Tonight. At her rehearsal dinner. You are going to be my plus one. And you will give her that gift that I know you've been hiding in your underwear drawer, inside your disgusting, lucky socks. Don't even deny it. I've checked twice before, and a third time a few months ago. I know it's there."_

_He looked at her sheepishly as his eyes momentarily glanced to his bedroom door. Alex really did know too much about him._

"_Don't go to support her, Justin. Just go _be _with her. Harper is… I can't go into detail because… girl code and all- but she's not having fun right now. She's not the fun, easy-going Harper that we both used to get into so much trouble with. Please, please go tonight. Give her that… thing that you've been hanging on to. Give it to her and let her make a decision. Remind her of who she is so she can stand up for herself. So she can _be _herself again."_

_Her speech was cryptic and vague, but the information that she allowed to leak out was enough for him. He gave her a curt nod before shooing her out of his apartment._

* * *

Alex sighed heavily as the memories of that morning came to a conclusion. Reminiscing back to her early morning endeavors had kept her entertained for a good fifteen minutes, as opposed to the lack thereof in her current surroundings. The event was initially entertaining as she watched the Wizards and the ocean dwellers try to act normal around the few mortals who were invited. But now, everything had molded into a comfortable flow and had become absolutely boring. She was sure that attempting to count her teeth with her tongue would be more fun than standing around, pretending to be nice to people she didn't know or care to know.

On the other hand, she did spend an entire hour paying attention to her best friend and her husband-to-be; and with that, Alex came to a not-so-surprising conclusion: she did _not _like Andy in the slightest bit. If given the opportunity, she might even be willing to say that she _hated _the Atlantean. She observed him; watched him like a hawk, and noticed without precipice that he clung to Harper like a newborn puppy to its bitch. _Not that Harper is a bitch or anything, I'm just sayin'… ugh! Focus!, _she scolded her easily distracted mind as she saw Andy drag Harper along to another pair of his parents' long time friends.

He did this a lot. He must have invited twenty different pairs of Atlantean royalties ranging from leaders to governors, and he made sure that they all knew who he and Harper were. Their hands were always connected in a tight grasp; that or he would find another form of connection, like an arm around her shoulders or her waist, or a grip to her arm… anything to show that she was his property. And his audience was more than eager to meet them. More her than him, Alex supposed, because almost all of them made a gesture to touch Harper in some sort of way. One of them even stroked her hair. They were immensely fascinated with her, like she was the very first human they've ever come in contact with. It was like she was his land-dweller trophy and he was showing her off.

She could live with that: Harper was a special person and it was about time that someone finally praised and appreciated her like a queen… but what bothered Alex was that she didn't see Harper open her mouth even once in the times that she was introduced to the other Atlanteans. Alex saw her smile, nod, tilt her head, but she never opened her mouth to speak. It was almost like Harper was acting like a mute commodity. Now, whether she was doing this of her own will or Andy had cautioned her to do so, Alex wasn't sure. But she sure as hell didn't like it.

Lost in thought, Alex didn't notice Max approaching until he was right in front of her. "Hey, Alex. Can you tell me what this is? I think it's a vegetable but it looks like a giant booger."

She watched him examine the round, breaded balls of 'booger' in his tiny plate, seeming to analyze further if the thing was actually edible.

"Those are baked mushrooms," she supplied. He looked at her with an unconvinced expression, so she continued, "Puréed, shaped, breaded, and then baked."

"Oh wow, that's gross," he chuckled, and then discreetly placed his plate on a passing waiter's tray. "So, this is some party, huh? It's really bumpin'."

"Yup," answered Alex, with a pop of the 'p'. "This party is so wild; I think asbestos is growing underneath my shoe."

Max nodded his head in agreement. It only seemed appropriate that the hired music chose that time to finally start. He snorted a suppressed chuckle as the sounds of synchronized harps and violins filled the air. "Not to be a ball-buster or anything, but I believe I contributed a hundred bucks to make tonight a fun night. When exactly is that money going to take into effect?"

"Relax, you. I confirmed the final arrangements before I came here. The real question is whether or not these people-" she gestured to the rest of the room, "will enjoy it."

"I'm betting the ladies will. But, how about his parents? Aren't you worried that they'll get offended or something?"

Alex thought about it for a quick second before concluding, "I've had Atlantean girlfriends before. Mommy Fish will definitely be tickled the right way. Daddy Fish… not so much, but I really don't care enough to take that into consideration."

Max just shrugged.

"You remembered to bring your camera?" she asked.

As a response, Max reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a small digital camera. His other hand reached into his pant pocket and pulled out his old portable, video recorder. He held up the latter to show it to her. "YouTube-friendly," he quipped with a grin.

Alex smiled, satisfied that she could always count on her younger brother to be just one step behind her when it came to her schemes.

"You think he'll be mad?"

She turned a raised eyebrow to him. The "_He" _that Max referred to was, of course, their loving eldest sibling. A mischievous smirk lifted to her lips, "Yes. But that's the whole point." From the corner of her eye, she noticed Harper and Andy appear into view, and they seemed to be approaching her. "Make yourself scarce, Sidekick. The grown-ups are coming."

Max, being the obedient pawn, quickly turned and walked away. Alex braced herself as she saw the engaged couple make their way towards her. Harper smiled warmly at her (the first time that night, Alex mentally noted), and Andy offered an obviously strained smirk. "Harper. Andy," she gritted through her teeth. She immediately pasted the biggest, most obnoxiously fake smile that she could muster, making Andy even the more irritated.

"Are you enjoying yourself, Russo?" he asked politely.

Alex grinned. "Tremendously so. Although all of these vegetables are not as fulfilling as I wish they would be." She emphasized by glancing at a waitress holding a platter of vegan finger-foods. "I am suddenly craving some caviar. Or sushi. Will either of those be in the menu tonight?"

If looks could kill, Alex would surely have dropped dead as Andy's eyes narrowed at her comment. Harper laughed awkwardly as she discreetly moved between the two.

"Andy, look, your mother is playing with her sandals again," Harper pointed towards his parents. His mother was seated on a chair, holding a red, high-heeled sandal in her hands. She was studying the object as if it held all of the answers to the universe's deepest, darkest secrets. Andy nodded curtly, then walked away with a frown. As soon as he was out of earshot, Alex snorted loudly.

"These sea people are truly entertaining to watch," she said, then chuckled loudly for good measure. Alex wanted to laugh heartily, but Harper's disapproving gaze stopped her.

"Alex, behave. You promised."

"Yeah, I know. And, really, if you haven't noticed, I _am _behaving," Alex countered.

Harper rolled her eyes.

"You know, to be honest, and I think you'll agree with me on this… this party is a bust."

Harper sighed. "This is a sophisticated, formal dinner party. And it is _not _a bust. It's just… calm and demure, and—"

"And ridiculously boring. Seriously, when are the strippers coming?"

Alex firmly closed her mouth as Harper's eyes widened. If she hadn't, she would likely have laughed out loud at her best friend's expression. When Harper was sure that Alex was joking, she grabbed a flute of champagne from a passing waiter and downed the alcoholic beverage in one gulp. She finished it with a huge sigh.

"God, I love it when I turn you into a nervous wreck," Alex quipped.

"Don't flatter yourself, Alex. I've been a nervous wreck for days now," answered Harper as another waiter offered to take the empty glass from her. She smiled courteously and allowed her hand to be freed of it.

"That is an indicator that all is not well. To think that a vein on your forehead popped and I was not the cause of it? Inconceivable!"

Harper began to shake her head. "You said it yourself. I'm a wreck. Please don't add to it."

The restrained smile on Alex's lips made her even more nervous.

"Alex, what did you do?" she asked slowly, enunciating each word. Suspicion was always at the back of her mind whenever her best friend was around.

"Can't tell you right now. I'm saving it for later," Alex said. She quickly averted her gaze to avoid the growing suspicion in Harper's stare. She concentrated on her own parents trying to talk politely to a pair of Atlantean royalties. The possibility that her dad was embarrassing himself was high. "So, I hope you don't mind that I invited Justin," Alex offered.

"Justin is here?" she asked eagerly as her head turned every which way to look for him.

"Yes. And no." Harper frowned at her so Alex continued, "I extended the invitation. He said he'll come, but I have yet to see him."

A slight wave of disappointment passed through her features. "I wouldn't blame him if he didn't. I wanted to send him an invitation but Andy insisted that… well, I was still hoping that maybe he would be someone's plus one, but…"

Alex watched her carefully. If Harper was trying to be nonchalant in regards to the topic of Alex's brother, she was definitely doing a bad job of it. The furrow of her eyebrows immediately gave her away as her eyes suddenly found the carpeted floor very interesting. Anxiousness was written all over her present demeanor.

A sincere smile rose to Alex's lips; her first one since the night started. She nudged Harper's shoulder playfully and supplied, "You look really nice tonight. Like five-years-younger nice. Pipi-Longstocking-nice."

Harper's reply was an equally playful slap to Alex's shoulder. A few more jabs of banter later led to the happy besties dancing to lighten their moods even more; even though the band that Andy had chosen for the night was playing nothing but slow, melodic, jazz tunes. Alex and Harper didn't have much choice but to slow dance with each other, thus alternating between the male and female roles of their exploit. Harper laughed hysterically when it was Alex's turn to be the male, and took advantage of the placement of her hands on Harper's waist as she dug her fingers into her skin and tickled her to no end. They were sure that many of the attendees were staring at them, but they didn't care. For the first time in a long time since Harper had left Waverly Place, they were together and they were acting like they were sixteen years old again.

Alex couldn't help but enjoy this as a sensation of familiar happiness ignited within her. There was once upon a time when they were simply like this: laughing and living life without complication. But ever since Harper had decided to grow up and leave, she had no choice but to grow up with her. It was that, or let Harper leave her behind. They got rid of their mischievous exploits and replaced it with their own respected careers. They replaced their everyday fun with normal every day responsibilities like bills and mortgage and regular morning coffee and daily television news and serious relationships… Alex tried her best to keep up with her best friend, but at one point, she finally came to a dreaded conclusion that Harper had just run too far ahead of her. Eventually, Alex succumbed to the role of supporter instead of partner-in-crime. She stepped aside and enabled the proclaimed _Andy_ _Bisca _from the _Bay of Bisca_ to take over. Alex thought that it was for the best. Andy supported Harper in everything she did; certainly more so than her own brother ever did. He encouraged Harper to open her very first boutique at a busy shopping district near the Notre Dame Cathedral. Her magically-inspired clothes and accessories became so popular that she was able to open a second boutique a year later within the _Avenue Montaigne_, a street well-known for the latest fashion trends. Harper was her own little factory so she kept herself busy with producing her designs. Even when help came in the form of fashion students in need of food money, Harper was still kept busy with property contracts, business licenses, fashion exhibits, etcetera, and etcetera.

It took months of moping over her failed relationship with Justin for Harper to finally become active and productive with herself. Yes, it seemed like Andy was just what the doctor ordered. Although as the years passed by, Alex soon realized that her stepping aside and Andy's unending support towards Harper's career soon resulted to the Harper that they now had: a very serious, workaholic Harper who wouldn't know _fun _even if it slapped her in the face.

Currently, for that night, as Alex averted Harper's attention away from the stress of her soon-to-be husband; the fun, care-free Harper was laughing along with her and Alex couldn't help but feel like she was given a chance to look through what life would have been like if she hadn't allowed Harper to walk away from Waverly Place all those years ago.

Something caught Alex's attention from the corner of her vision, and she immediately grinned like a Cheshire Cat. She briefly turned her attention to Harper. "So, I've been wondering… were you expecting a minimum spending amount on your gifts?"

Harper giggled; a rare genuine sound to Alex's ears. "For everyone else, there was a $30 minimum and that information was included in the wedding invitations. For you, I'd be happy with a picture frame made out of dried macaroni and glue."

"You know me so well," said Alex as her grin slighted to a smile.

Harper looked at her strangely. An inquiry was at the tip of her tongue but a tap to her shoulder made her turn her head instead. Her eyes widened and a memorable, tingling feeling filled her stomach as her eyes met his.

"May I cut in?"

She tried to greet a hello, but her mouth didn't seem to want to obey her. The best she could come out with was a soft whimper.

Justin decided to not wait for an answer. He took her hand in his and wrapped an arm around her waist.

"You came," she managed to breathe out after a while of swaying along with him.

"What kind of friend would I be if I didn't come?"

The word "friend" distracted her momentarily before contentment overtook her as she placed a hand on his shoulder. She allowed her body to move along with his and soon found herself perfectly in sync with his movements. She didn't even notice that Alex had already disappeared from sight until Justin pointed it out minutes later.

"I meant to invite you," she said to fill the void of silence. An indication of an apology was evident in her tone.

"Don't worry about it. I completely understand," Justin offered. "I wouldn't be too keen about me if I were in his shoes."

Harper nodded. "He doesn't mean to be that way. He's just a bit stressed out about the wedding. I am too."

"I know. Like I said, don't worry about it. What matters is that you're happy."

Her eyes drifted down as she avoided his gaze. "Yeah, I'm very, very happy," she muttered.

A comfortable silence grew between them, and neither truly minded. For the rest of the song, they just enjoyed each other's presence. He concentrated on the feeling of having her in his arms, and she concentrated on the feeling of being held by him. They hadn't stood so close to each other since they separated years ago, and it was no surprise that the familiarity of their close proximity made them feel so happy and so content.

On the other side of the room, Andy caught sight of them and his face immediately reddened. He excused himself from the group of men that he had been conversing with and quickly made his way towards them. Halfway through his quest, a familiar, irritating voice boomed over the entire venue.

"LADIES AND GENTS!" Alex yelled onto a microphone (Harper groaned upon seeing her). "MOST OF YOU SURELY MUST BE FALLING ASLEEP FROM THIS FABULOUS MUSIC—_NO OFFENSE MUSIC DUDES, YOU'RE ALL DOING A DANDY JOB!_—BUT WHY DON'T WE KICK THIS UP A NOTCH?"

All attention turned to her, and Harper could barely hold her embarrassment at what was to come.

"ALL THE WAY FROM THE RED DISTRICT OF PARIS… LES NAUGHTY MESSIEURS!"

Loud techno music erupted and the fluorescent bulbs dimmed to give way to colorful, disco lighting as four men dressed in tuxedos approached the stage. "HAPPY WEDDING, HARPER!" Alex yelled again before quickly descending from the stage and disappearing into the crowd.

The scattered crowd slowly approached the stage as curiosity set in. Harper grimaced as the techno music quickly transitioned into a remix version of Christina Aguilera's "Dirrty." Applause drowned out Andy's hysterical screaming as the four men slowly took off the jackets of their suits. Their pants followed the same fate soon after.

Somewhere in the corner, Max could vaguely hear "Damn it, Russo! Where are you?" coming from the only disapproving expression in the entire room. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Women of all ages were cheering, whistling, and hollering. Even the men, including his father and Mr. Finkle, seemed to be laughing and waving around loose Euro bills. Mr. Russo started laughing hysterically when coins started raining onto the stage.

Harper awkwardly shifted on her feet as she tried to assess the situation. Her fiancé was somewhere in the crowd, undoubtedly chasing her best friend, while the rest of the room is in absolutely uproar over the male strippers. She could visibly see Max leaning against a wall, smiling, while Justin stayed by her side with an amused smirk on his expression.

"You can always count on Alex to keep things interesting," he quipped.

She laughed nervously. "Yup. That, she does."

Harper stayed still, unmoving, as she watched the event unfold. It didn't take long until the rest of the strippers' clothing was completely gone, and all that was left on their persons were sock-looking covers for their penises. It was demeaning, inappropriate, and down-right disturbing; but the crowd seemed to love it. The uproar continued and seemed to have no end at all. Whenever a song ended, another followed, and the strippers would just pick up right where they left off with the previous song. They were in sync with their dancing and highly entertaining with their movements. If Harper wasn't so sure that her fiancé wasn't likely to be on a murderous rampage towards Alex, she probably would have enjoyed the merriment as much as everyone else.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt the gentle brush of a hand to her shoulder. When she turned, her breath was caught at the sight of a smiling Justin. She had forgotten he was there. And at that moment, with the music blaring so loud that it didn't allow her to think properly, she just looked at him as purely an image. She had forgotten how handsome he was, with his jet-black hair groomed to a short cut, tousled to just the right angle; his fair skin illuminating the colors of the lights that passed by him; and his eyes, it was always his eyes… In the previous meetings that they have had upon re-engaging their friendship, she had avoided looking at him like she did when they were younger. She always made sure that her conscious wariness was at the forefront of her mind. But now, with the loud music and the every-changing shades of lights, her mind became foggy and disoriented, forcing her to only look at him with her eyes and not her mind. And he looked damn good.

"You want to step out for a bit?" he asked.

She gave a dazed nod and allowed herself to be led out of the room, and then out of the venue. No one gave notice to the retreating couple.

Justin and Harper walked in calm silence, with no particular destination in mind. Their footsteps eventually led them to a garden area. Harper's low heels clicked softly on the marbled tiles the decorated the walkway of the garden; and Justin relished every click like a gentle strike of a piano key as he gazed thoughtfully into the vast horizon of perfectly groomed plants.

They stopped only when they reached a pond. The surface glistened with the reflection of the moon, and the white lilies that sat on floating green pods served as momentary disruptions to the overwhelming awe of the pond's clear sheen. Both individuals felt a desire to jump in, but knew better than to ruin their night's disguise.

Harper allowed herself some relief by sitting on the white marble bench situated a mere stone's throw from the water. She leaned back on her hands and sighed as her weight is removed from her feet. "The cool air feels really nice," she offered as strands of her loose braid danced with the slight breeze that passed by.

"Yeah. It felt a little stuffy in there. Especially in this suit," Justin supplied.

Harper giggled. "Well, you look very dashing in your dark suit. Quite a change from the tweed blazers with the leather elbow pads."

Justin shrugged. "It's college fashion. If I don't wear it, the other professors will make fun of me. They'll think I'm too hip if I wear regular clothes. And you're one to talk. This, um, look… It's new?" he asked as he gestured to her dress.

"Just for tonight, I assure you," she said. "Not quite me, is it?"

"No, not quite," he agreed. Although his eyes softened as he caught sight of a lone tendril of auburn hair waft briefly to her cheek. "Nonetheless," he said in almost a whisper, "you look absolutely beautiful."

Her eyebrows rose. "Despite the little-blue-girl get-up?" she asked, not quite believing his declaration.

He dared a few steps towards her, and with furrowed eyebrows and a sincere look, said, "You could be wearing the ugliest dress in the world and you would still look more beautiful than any girl I've ever met or seen in my entire life."

A tiny smile escaped her lips, despite her will to take control of her expression.

Justin dared to take another step towards her; and then another, and another. He kept advancing until he was right in front her. The steady beats of her heart rapidly raced as he extended a hand to her. "Dance with me?"

Her lips pursed. "There's no music."

He shrugged.

"Dancing with no music? I think I've seen that movie before," she giggled.

Justin rolled his eyes and chuckled. He seemed to frown in concentration as he raised a hand in the air, and then gave a knowing smile. A short moment later, a soft, whimsical melody seemed to travel through the space around them. Harper strained her ears to hear it clearly so that she can decipher what sort of instruments she could hear, but the music was not loud enough. It was almost like a whisper of well-orchestrated chimes. And when she closed her eyes, she swore she could almost hear a female humming.

"How?" she whispered as she looked to Justin for an answer.

Justin bent to take her hand, pulling her up with him and automatically placing her in a familiar embrace. "It's the sound of the fairies."

Harper gasped as she quickly looked around to confirm this. "Wha—where?"

"No, no. Not Magical World fairies. I mean the untamed, wild fairies that live freely in the mortal world. You can't see or hear them. They are invisible to mortals. But they're all over the place, especially in areas where nature is in full bloom," Justin said with a low chuckle.

She nodded her head, although she didn't quite understand what he told her. There were mythical things around her and she couldn't see it? A part of her was in disbelief, and another part was a tad jealous that she couldn't see the fairies. "What are they doing now?" she whispered.

His smile grew. "Playing… dancing," he said. "Singing…"

Harper continued to look around her, entranced by the idea that magical creatures were singing and dancing everywhere. She didn't even notice that Justin had started swaying with her. Her body moved in perfect sync with his movements. It was almost like her body was acting on pure instinct.

Her mood lulled to a slight high as she continued to listen to the air. The humming of the fairies was having an effect on her. She felt her muscles loosen. Her shoulders sagged. Before she knew it, she had closed her eyes again and placed her head on Justin's shoulder.

"I feel kind of sleepy," she whispered.

A smirk formed on his lips as he wrapped his arms around her, to ensure that she didn't fall away from him. "It's an effect from listening to fairies sing. It takes a few minutes to get used to it. Just relax and enjoy the buzz."

They stayed like that for awhile, basking in each other's peaceful, silent presence. Before he knew what he was doing, Justin had closed his own eyes and allowed himself to go back to a time when he didn't feel like he was enacting a sin by holding Harper in his arms.

"I have to know," he suddenly asked, waking her from her half-slumber. "I know I promised to not bring it up, but… I just have to know…"

Uncertainty filled his expression as Harper lifted her head to look at him.

"Why did you leave?"

Her face fell, and she sighed in frustration. "This is neither the place nor the time for that..."

"I agree. Believe me, I do. But seeing as you are about to get married tomorrow, this is the only place and time that we will have until I lose you again."

Her eyebrows furrowed. She knew it; deep down, she acknowledged that Justin would most likely not attend the wedding, and that she may never see him again after she marries Andy. The thought bothered her and she had tried many times to push it to the back of her mind.

She debated whether or not she should retort a response, but quickly decided against it. The conversation was long overdue; she was surprised that it hadn't come sooner. Sighing in defeat, she organized her thoughts as best she could before speaking.

"I-," she started, but stopped when a familiar pang of insecurity rose to her chest. Her gaze traveled down to his chest, and she resolved to concentrate on the top button of his shirt before trying again. "There were a lot of things going on back then. You just became a full Wizard, and then the job at WizTech... So many new people to meet and be associated with… There was just no place for me."

She felt his grip on her waist tighten; but he remained silent, so she continued.

"I didn't want to get in the way of anything. Becoming a full Wizard meant a lot to you. It meant everythi—"

"Not everything."

She looked up, and her eyes immediately locked with his. Like so many moments since he re-entered her life, she looked at him in the same way that she did before: with awe, inspiration, and longing. She quickly became entranced with the same longing that he seemed to exude in his own gaze, and she had to force herself to look away to resume her composure.

"Becoming a full Wizard meant everything… to you and your parents. I was the mortal girlfriend…" She closed her eyes as the memories of their uncertain future came rushing back. "I know the laws… the regulations… the punishment… What happened to your dad, I didn't— I didn't want that to be an option. So I—I left. It was better that way. For you. For the both of us."

He remained quiet long after she finished, and for a while, she thought that he was just brewing in anger; maybe he was building up to a grand exit.

"You shouldn't have left," he whispered so low that she barely heard him. "It wasn't better. Not for me. It wasn't."

"Justin, you have to understand… We live in two different worlds that can't be combined without great consequence." Her voice rose and hardened. The effects of fairies' humming were quickly losing its effects. "It wouldn't have worked. It was a difficult choice to make, but I made it with sincere intentions of what was best for _you_."

"But it wasn't your choice to make."

She felt her nose sting and her eyes water as she looked at him. His voice remained leveled, and his demeanor remained calm. It was like he had practiced this encounter numerous times before and had perfected what he would say and how he would say it to convey the well-developed reasoning behind his argument.

"I appreciate that you had me in mind when you made the decision to suddenly leave my life, but… to separate us… to break us apart because of me… that wasn't your choice to make. It was my life. It was my decision whether or not I would be willing to accept the punishment for staying with the woman that I love," he said. "You took that choice away from me."

"And what would you have done then?" she asked with a bit of spite. She could feel herself shaking as she heaved a huge sigh. "There was no way out of it. You would've broken up with me anyway. The alternative would have been too much for you."

Justin only shook his head. "How would you know that would have been too much for me? You don't think I had thought about what I would do beforehand?" he asked. His grip firmed as he felt Harper try to push away from him. "I've thought about it since the first time I kissed you. Yes. There was a choice to make, and up to the very last minute before the competition, I admit that I still didn't know what to do. But I will tell you this: I was already leaning towards a decision before you left, and you should know that it didn't involve breaking us up at all."

Her vision blurred as tears gathered in her eyes. He was speaking so calmly, so logically. And he was right. In her mind, she knew he was right. She had wanted to make it easier for him… she was desperate to save him from making such a hard decision, but she had neglected to consider what he had felt. She had lacked confidence in him, lacked confidence that he would make the right decision, but she forgot that he was Justin… _her_ Justin… the same Justin that she had known since before they had both been exposed to the idea of cooties.

Her eyebrows furrowed and her mouth opened. She tried to say something, anything; but nothing came out. This time, it was her grip on his shoulders that tightened as he slowly and gently pulled away from her. Her eyes followed his movements carefully as his hand disappeared into his coat pocket and pulled a folded handkerchief.

"I tried to give this back to your Dad, but he was insistent that I keep it… in case… I don't know," he said as he placed the folded handkerchief in her hand.

Carefully and slowly, she unfolded the cloth. She deliberately pulled each corner of the handkerchief away until its contents came into full view: a shiny, silver pearl encased in a very aged, Victorian brooch, decorated by intricately curled silver and mounted on an equally detailed silver band.

She could feel tears well at the corners of her eyes. "I haven't seen this since I—since I was a kid. It—it was broken and rusted, and…" she rambled on. "H—how?"

He offered a small smile. "I wanted to give you something special after the competition. You were so supportive the entire time and I wanted to give you something to—to let you know how much I appreciate you. I asked your parents if I could rifle through their old things and I found… that. They said it was your grandmother's."

She nodded. "My Nana's… It was a necklace."

"Barely," he said. "I fixed it."

"Into a ring?" she asked.

Justin took the intricate ring from her hands and held it with the tip of his fingers. "I had a motive," he said as he stared at it.

Harper widened her eyes as the full impact of what he was saying finally hit her.

He placed the ring back into her hand. "Happy… wedding. I guess."

Justin stepped back from her. It was the farthest that he's done by far throughout the night. He turned and started to walk away, and Harper could do nothing but stand still and watch him. She looked at him, and then at the ring in her hand. She kept her hand relaxed and opened, afraid that if she closed her hand, the ring will break or disappear. Her breathing became rapid and she became anxious. She wanted to do something, _needed _to do something; but she didn't know what to do. She looked up, hoping that the answer will be in front of her, but all she found was Justin's retreating back.

Suddenly, he stopped. He stopped walking and stood there for what felt like hours. His head was bobbing a bit, like he was debating something and couldn't decide on what to do. It was her chance to go after him, and she knew it. She knew that she should go after him and say something; acknowledge what he had just confessed, and assure him that she would have… would have said… that she would have…

Before she knew what was happening, Justin had turned and was walking; this time, he was walking towards her in fast strides. Her chest heaved with excitement as he extended his arms, took both of her cheeks into his hands, and pressed his lips firmly onto hers.

It was a hungry kiss; the type that she had never experienced before. The movements of his lips were rapid and aggressive. When his teeth graced her lower lip, her eyes widened and a whimper escaped her throat. She had never been kissed so passionately and so impatiently before, that she didn't know how to respond to it. When she felt his hands lower and his arms encircle her torso in a tight embrace, she closed her eyes and allowed herself to be taken away into a deep sense of ecstasy. Soon, her instincts took over and her lips followed his kisses with perfect sync. When he bit, she bit. When he suckled, so did she. When he pressed, she did as well. When her mouth opened to allow a moan to escape, Justin took advantage of the opportunity and quickly invaded her with his tongue. His tongue immediately found hers and they danced with practiced familiarity. She moaned louder and her knees buckled as she grabbed his shoulders for support, with her grandmother's brooch still clasped securely in her right hand.

Sooner than she expected, it all abruptly stopped. They both heaved a huge breath as he pulled away from her.

"I—I'm sorry," he whispered. His gaze remained lowered and looked almost shamed. "I shouldn't have…"

She wanted to argue that _Yes, Yes! You should!_, but her lips were still numb from their heated kiss and seemed to not want to obey her.

Slowly and hesitantly, his arms lowered and he stepped away from her again.

"Good night, Harper," he said. And with a wave of his hand, a bright flash of light took him away, leaving a still-standing Harper to her lonesome self.

Her grip on the ring tightened as the tears welling in her eyes finally fell.


	31. Chapter 31

Disclaimer: I do not own Wizards of Waverly Place. No profit is being made from releasing this fictional story.

Author's Note: Hello hello! How did everyone do on their finals? My last final was yesterday so I immediately started working on this chapter right afterwards. Thank you, everyone, for being so patient and waiting for this update. Hopefully, I'll be able to update again before the end of Christmas break.

I hope you enjoy this installment to this story. Let's read on!

**A Familiar Pattern 31**

**By genielou**

Andy lifted the glass of scotch to his lips and downed its entirety in one gulp. A hiss escaped from his mouth as he inhaled through his teeth in an attempt to momentarily cool the burning effect of the alcohol. He glanced at the clock mounted on the wall. The long, black arrow clicked on the tenth digit as the shorter arrow remained stationed between two and three. He cursed under his breath as he dreaded yet another hour almost passed with him still awake while Harper slept uneasily in the other room.

The night's event was still fresh in his mind: the many handshakes and smiles, the short conversations, the compliments regarding his soon-to-be-wife… It was all going perfectly well until Alex decided to make things a little too interesting. Thanks to her, Andy had spent half of his night either hunting her down or trying to shut down the music in hopes of halting the half-naked men's dancing. He failed, of course. Alex seemed to be remarkably dedicated to making sure that there were no holes in her pranks. Curse her and her ability to produce flawless schemes…

Although, if he were to be completely honest with himself, the fiasco with the strippers weren't as bad as it could have been. Andy's concern was that his parents and family members would become embarrassed or upset, and may even possibly hate land-dwellers altogether. On the contrary, when his mother saw the dancing men, she immediately stood from her seat and cheered with the rest of the women. His father, although he remained on the sidelines, laughed along with the rest of the men who stood back. Apparently, they were familiar with the concept of stripping dancers and have always wanted to see one with their own eyes. The night's festivities were definitely more than they had expected, and they expressed nothing but excitement for it.

So no, the dancing men were not what stressed him out. If anything, it was Harper. She disappeared for a fair amount of time while he was chasing Alex around, and when she reappeared, she was quiet; far too quiet for his comfort. A part of him knew why, but a larger part of him wanted to play dumb and ignore it.

With a huge sigh, Andy shook his head and slowly made his way back to the mini bar. He stared at his options: Malt Liquor, three different years of Scotch, flavored Vodka, and an adequately aged Cabernet Sauvignon. The beautifully unique shapes of the bottles beckoned for his attention, each with its own unique style of seduction. The older Scotch was highly tempting, but he opted for the Malt Liquor instead. His fingertips softly graced the slick curves of the bottle before he picked it up by the neck and gently twisted the cool, metal top. The sweet aroma that reached his nose gave a momentary pause to his dilemmas.

He remembered the first time Harper had introduced him to flavored alcohol. Previously, he was only aware of Atlantean alcohol (which were not very strong), and the land dwellers' beer concoction. He hadn't known about the different types of alcohol until she took him to a local bar and made him drink an Appletini. He had been hooked since then. The sweetened taste mixed with the bitterness and stinging sensation of the drink while it travelled down his throat was an experience that he learned to bear and enjoy. Granted, he was not allowed to swim for a few hours after drinking because of its after-effects, but it was well-worth it. Add to that the effects that drinking had on his fiancée. She always became more aloof when drinking; more agreeable. With her inhibitions clouded, she became childish and rather playful, which was a side of Harper that Andy was not used to seeing. After that first time of seeing her acting like a near-fool from drinking too many shots of cherry-flavored vodka, he found that he rather enjoyed the fun, silly Harper more than he did the respectable, business-type Harper. He admired her nevertheless, but he wished that she could be silly more often.

Oh Gods, he loves her. He loves her so much that, a lot of times, he didn't know what to do with her. He would give her the world if he could. There was even a time when she had teased him that she didn't need the world as long as he stayed right by her side. And he did; he stayed right beside her as she challenged the world with her clothing designs. Regrettably, after a while, as much as he would like to believe that she appreciated the fact that he was right next to her in every difficult step that she took to become the woman that she was today, he had a feeling that she barely noticed that he was there at all.

So many forces in the universe were just betting against him and he didn't know how to handle it. First: the lack of attention from Harper's part. Second: the ongoing neglect that slowly grew to his almost non-existence in her life. Third: the deceit when Harper quickly rekindled her friendship with her first love. Andy didn't even want to think about a fourth factor; he just wanted everything to be fixed and placed back to the way they were. Possible happiness was less than twenty four hours away, and yet, he felt like pursuing his happiness would create more problems than it would solve.

Andy lifted the bottle to his mouth and took a small sip of the liquor. The sweet flavor was satisfying and calming on his tongue, despite the clouding of his mind as the alcohol descended downward into his stomach.

"I should probably stop," he whispered to himself.

He moved to the living room, quietly walking in the dark. He was used to it; it was much darker under water.

Memories surged through him as he remembered the many activities that he and Harper had done in that single room. Many late night movie times, many frozen dinners, many conversations, many kisses and touches… When was the last time that he had touched her in that same room? When was the last time that he had kissed her in that same apartment?

A framed picture perched atop of a shelf caught his eye. It was of him and her on their very first date. He remembered that night vividly. They had both decided to try something new, so they opted for eating authentic French food. It was her first time being in France and his first time being on the actual land of France. They chose a small, family-owned restaurant that was very eager to help them pick their very first French meal. The old married couple who owned the restaurant made sure that they ate something that wouldn't scare them away from the culture's cuisine. They shared a simple duck roast with a few exotic vegetables, and cheese crepes made with naturally-aged goat milk. It was different, but good-different, for the both of them. They went to a winery; they rode a hot-air balloon; they attended a country rodeo; and they even went whale-watching. That particular activity was definitely new to Andy. He had been so used to watching whales underwater, but never on the surface. He understood perfectly well why mortals were so entranced by the practice. It was absolutely breath-taking to see such a monstrous creature defy gravity and jump in the air at the height that they do.

The first time they kissed was when Andy brought her back to the same place that they had first met, which was The Blue Lagoon Water Adventure. He wanted to celebrate their third-month anniversary as exclusive daters by doing something special so he brought her there. They swam for hours, and he showed her different ways to swim through the water current without the need of fins. By the second hour, she was swimming like a natural. By the fourth hour, they lay down on a clearing and just watched other creatures swim around them. That was when she thanked him by kissing him. It was a short kiss, but his heart swelled with the contact of their lips. It was only a year later that he learned that The Blue Lagoon was also the same place where Harper and Justin had their first date. Andy wasn't sure what to do with the information. He felt irritated that The Blue Lagoon was not an exclusive memory to him and to her, so he just opted for completely disregarding that place as a choice for another date.

After that day, his life seemed to fall right into place. His studies at the Atlantean Academy of Sorcery was going great, he was next in line to be anointed as a soldier into the very prestige Atlantean Court, and he had the girl of his dreams, of whom he loved very much. His application to the Atlantean Court was even boosted up because Harper was a land-dweller; apparently, cross-breeding with land-dwellers was encouraged in his home. His uncle said that it was because of the near-extinction of their kind. Andy didn't really know what that meant, but he was willing to go along with it.

And now, there he was, a Sorcery graduate and a soon-to-be soldier. He was really hoping to add 'married' to his list of accomplishments, but now he wasn't so sure. He was sure that he wanted to be married to Harper, the only one that he had ever devoted so many years to, but he was also sure that the same commitment was not reciprocated back to him.

He shook his head. Why has the Gods given him such a hard situation to deal with? He was almost happy. Why couldn't he just be happy?

Sighing loudly, he made his way to the bedroom and paused momentarily by the doorway. He couldn't help but appreciate the beauty that lay on the bed, unaware of the turmoil within his own heart.

Andy carefully settled himself down on the bed and placed a gentle hand on her hip. The moonlight shining through the window bounced softly on her white skin, creating a slight sheen of pink from the make-up that she wore earlier. His thumb caressed the thin fabric of her clothing in circular motions, emitting a soft moan from her lips. He smiled at the knowledge that he can still affect her in that way.

He loves her. Oh Gods, he loves her. Deep down, past all the alcohol that was numbing him; he knew what he had to do. He had been thinking about it for so long, and even tried to push past it. But he couldn't. The previous night's events showed him that he just couldn't.

Andy didn't know how long he sat there, with his hand gently caressing her. All he knew was that he wanted to freeze that moment in time. He wanted to remain unmoving at that particular moment, when she is peacefully at rest and he was the only one who could claim the intimacy that he was providing her. But he knew that was impossible. He knew what he had to do. He didn't want to do it. By the Gods, he really didn't want to do it, but he knew he had to. He loves her too much to force her to be something that she wasn't. No matter how much she protested, he knew that the situation that they were currently in was not in her list of things to accomplish. It used to be, but recent events have changed that. Recent events have awakened the real Harper and have changed the true purpose of her life. She may not want to admit it yet, but she will, one day, and Andy was not sure he wanted to be there when that finally happens. So he'll do this for her, now.

He didn't even realize that his vision had blurred, or that a single tear had escaped from the corner of his eye and was now sliding down his cheek. He was trying to be strong, but his subconscious knew full well what he would be losing after tonight.

He leaned down and placed a gentle kiss to her forehead. Her chest rose as she inhaled and allowed an inevitable sigh of satisfaction escape from her lips. Harper's eyebrows knitted slightly at the center, likely because of the disruption to her slumber. He moved his thumb to softly brush over her eyebrow and made light circular motions to her temple, soothing the frown that had formed. Her eyes slowly opened to small slits, fluttered a few times, and then opened completely. The pupils of her eyes dilated as they adjusted to the darkness of the room, and she had to blink a few times before the shape of Andy's body made sense in her vision.

"Hey," she said hoarsely while a hand slowly reached out to him. "Hi."

He caught her hand in his and brought it down to his lap. The sleepy smile that she gave him made him grin like a love-sick puppy. "I couldn't sleep," he declared.

She inhaled deeply as she tried to lift her head. Her eyes flitted briefly towards the alarm clock on her bedside and she frowned. "It's late. We have to be up early."

"Yeah, I know, but.." he trailed off as his eyes took her appearance in appreciation. Her hair was tousled and flat on one side; the remainder of her mascara was smudged on one eye; her cheeks were red with marks from her pillow; the skirt of her nightgown was lifted on one thigh, and the straps were loosely hanging off of one shoulder. He remembered the other times when he had woken up in bed with her looking just like this. She looked so young, content, and carefree, just like when they had first started dating; when she was happy, and when he knew that he was the reason for her happiness. "I'm… I'm feeling a bit dry. I need the sea."

Harper knew exactly what he meant. At times, when he had been on land for too long, his body became 'dry' to the point that regular tap water couldn't hydrate him enough. His body system could only recover by being near the sea or being submerged in it.

"Come with me? I don't- I don't want to go alone tonight."

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but she nodded with a smile nonetheless.

It only took ten minutes for Harper to brush her teeth, tie her hair back, and change into a pair of pants and a sweater. The walk towards the nearest shore didn't take long, and they spent it in comfortable silence. He held her hand the entire time and swung it lightly as they walked.

"Go ahead. I'll wait here," she told him when they reached an area closed off by high slopes of rocks. She slacked her fingers to let go, but he simply tightened his grip and pulled her along. Before Harper knew what was happening, he had picked her up effortlessly and was walking towards the water. She giggled and laughed as he did so while she wrapped her arms around his neck and tightened her hold on him. "Don't let go! It's too cold! Don't let go!" she said while laughing.

A solemn expression crossed his face as he whispered, "I don't want to."

Harper pulled back enough to look at him. Her eyebrows furrowed at his expression. His eyes were unfocused, his lips were thinned to a line, and his eyebrows met at a frown. He was looking at her so intensely that she felt like she might cry.

She loosened her arms around his neck and placed a gentle hand to his cheek. "Put me down," she whispered softly.

Andy did as he was told and slowly started settling her down. A slight shiver ran through her spine as the cool, salty water touched her toes, causing Andy to stop abruptly. She bit her lip before nodding for him to continue, and he set her all the way down. Harper gasped softly as her feet became completely submerged in the sea water. Andy's arms tightened around her waist in an attempt to give her some of his warmth.

When her shivers subsided, she looked at him curiously and reveled on the softness of his gaze. It had been a while since she'd seen him look at her that way. He used to look at her like that all the time, until a few years ago when her business picked up pace and she became extremely involved in her clothing line. Since then, he would look at her with frustration and annoyance. Sometimes he looked at her with disappointment. She could count on one hand the few times that he looked at her with passion in the past year; that moment was likely to be the fifth or sixth time.

She placed her arms around his neck and lifted her face to match his height. She felt his chest rise as she placed a soft kiss on the corner of his lips. Andy tilted his head to the side and pressed his forehead to hers. "Don't pull back, okay?"

Harper frowned, confused, but gave him a small nod. Suddenly, his lips were on hers and he was kissing her eagerly, desperately. She was so taken aback that it took her a few seconds to respond. She tried hard to match his movements. She tried to give him as much as he was giving her, but she knew that, somehow, she wasn't achieving it. She wasn't kissing him back the way she should be kissing him. While the suckling of his lips on hers was purely passionate and hungry, her kisses were more reactive and sincere. He must have felt it because he suddenly pulled away from her and avoided her gaze.

Harper placed her hands on his cheeks and forced him to look at her. "Hey," she said softly. Her thumb made circular motions on his skin when his gaze drifted down again. "Andy. Talk to me."

The look that he gave her was full of pleading.

"I love you," he said so quietly that she had to strain to hear him. "You must know that I—I love you so, so… much."

The corner of her lips quirked up as she said, "I love you too."

He shook his head. "I know, I know," he whispered. "Just… just not as much… as I would like to hope… that you do."

Harper frowned. Confusion settled as her hands automatically released him. Her fingers ghosted the skin of his face and he reached up to enclose her hands in his, to replace them back onto his cheeks.

"Harper," he continued. "I think I fell in love with you within the first moment that I laid my eyes on you. Remember… remember the Lagoon?"

She nodded her head numbly.

"I never told you this, but I saw you as soon as you entered. I saw you. _You_. And I wanted so badly to talk to you. You were so beautiful, and so full of… of life! I saw it with the way you talked with your friends. And then I saw it again when I saw you at that party—the one with the Russo's? I was drawn to you. I couldn't help it. I think—I think I knew, even then, that I was helplessly, and maybe even foolishly, falling hard for you."

"Stop," Harper said with more conviction than she thought she had. "Whatever this is leading to, just—just stop. Let's just go back home and sleep. We have a long day ahead of us and we both need to rest."

"Harper," he said, softly. He took her hands in his and held them to his chest. "You need to listen. Alright? Just, please, listen."

She shivered nervously and her grip on his hands tightened.

"To me—" he whispered. "To me, you are the lone, shining star in a city full of lights. No matter how bright the city's artificial lights may be, you still shine vividly; and I noticed you. Everyone notices you. I believe that… that you can shine brighter. Much, much brighter than you already do now. There are still so many things that you haven't done, and I know you will do them all. I know it. I just… I don't want to be the one to keep you from doing those things."

Harper shook her head slowly. "I don't have anything else that I want to do. We're about to get married. In a few hours, we're going to have everything that we've always wanted."

"You mean, everything that _I've_ always wanted."

She frowned. The beating of her heart sped up.

"Harper, this life that we're about to enter into… it's what _I_ wanted. Just me. Not you. And if you think back to everything that we've been through in the past year, you'll realize that I'm right." Andy tightened his hold on her hands, afraid that if he let go, he would lose the courage to say what he needed to say. "I've always kept both feet forward when regarding our relationship. But, you… whether it was work-related or—something else…"

Andy loses his voice as an image of Justin and Harper together appeared in his mind. It took him a few seconds of deep breathing to make the vision go away.

"You were always just _sort of_ dedicated to this engagement, Harper. But not entirely. Never entirely. And I think, deep down, you know that."

Tears quickly welled in her eyes and her cheeks became red with frustration. She tried to pull her hands away from him but he relented and tightened his hold on her. "Please, please, don't do this," she pleaded.

Andy shook his head. "Harper, I love you. I love you. I love you. But let's…" he took a deep breath and felt tears sliding down his cheeks. "Let's just… stop this… while we still can."

Harper's shoulders shook as she whispered, "No, no, no…"

He enveloped her in his arms and held her like his life depended on it. His eyes shut as Harper became hysterical and cried loudly. His chest ached as he felt her shake her head against him. He could hear her protests, her denial against his accusations (he even heard Justin's name come out of her lips a few times); but he knew that he was right. He knew that he had to get through this.

It took a while, but eventually, she stopped shaking and just held on to him with exhausted arms. Andy made sure to compose himself before pulling away slightly and leaned down to kiss her again. He could feel her try to kiss him the way that he had always hoped she would, with pure and eager passion, but she couldn't. He knew that she wanted to, but she couldn't. Her kisses were still simply just a reaction to his: sincere and polite. That was all they ever could be: sincere and polite.

He reluctantly pulled away from her and held her at arm's length. "Go."

She shook her head.

"Harper, please, go," he said with a strained voice. He could feel the stinging sensation in his eyes again. "I want you to be able to walk away from me, Harper. I can't be the one to do it. If you love me, and I know you do, you will do this for me. Give me this last request. With everything that has happened this past year, you owe me this much."

The accusation stung deeply and she gasped as another bout of tears threatened to form.

"Please," he pleaded. "I can't be the one to do it. I've already done so much up to this point. It's your turn. You owe me this…. Walk away."

Her shoulders shook again and she hesitated, but he knew that she would. He knew that she would be able to walk away from him, and he was right. As soon as he let go, she took a slight step back. He waited patiently and soon, she was stepping back even further. Slowly, very slowly, she turned around and shuffled away from him; away from the water and towards the land. Once both of her feet were on the sand, her body began to twist towards him and his voice stopped her.

"Don't turn around," he begged her. "You can't turn around. Just keep going. Keep walking. I'll stay here until you're completely gone."

Her body tensed and he saw her hesitate; but eventually, she stood straight and started walking again. He watched her as she clumsily climbed over the rocky terrain and made her way towards the road. She stopped again when she reached the flat surface and he thought that she would try to turn around, but she didn't. She just stood there with her shoulders shivering and her head shaking. He knew she was crying. He just knew she was.

In a few moments, she started walking again, and this time, she didn't stop. She kept walking until she was completely out of sight. And when she was absolutely gone, that was when Andy allowed himself to cry loudly.

He stayed there, on the shoreline, until the sun came up. He stayed there for hours. A part of him hoped that he was wrong, that Harper did love him as much as he loved her. A part of him hoped that she would come back and prove him wrong. But she didn't. The dark skies gave way to the warm light of the sun and she still did not come back. The pain in his chest was overwhelmingly and he wanted so badly to just scream out into the world, but he knew… deep down, he knew that what he had done was for the best. It was the best for both of them.

Very early on the morning after, phone calls were made to the invited guests of the wedding, informing them that the ceremony had been cancelled. No explanation was offered. When family members and friends tried to reach Harper or Andy, neither could be found. Consequently, Alex had also disappeared and could not be reached.


End file.
